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The
WILLIAM L.
CLEMENTS
LIBRARY
University of Michigan
Gift of
Edith Rosenberg
in memory of
Harold Rosenberg



نک



H.1 Stephens, Del
Samuel Sertain Sc.
'SHOOT, IF YOU MUST, THIS OLD GRAY HEAD,
BUT SPARE YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG SHE
AID"
Barbara Eritchie

FAMOUS
WOMEN OF THE WAR
A RECORD OF HEROISM, PATRIOTISM,
AND PATIENCE.
BY
L. P. BROCKETT, M.D.,
Author of “History of the Civil War," “ Philanthropic Results of the War," " Our Great
Captains," “Life of Abraham Lincoln,” “Battle-Field and Hospital,” Etc., Etc.
AND
MRS. MARY C. VAUGHAN.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
HENRY W. BELLOWS, D.D.,
President U.S. Sanitary Commission.
ILLUSTRATED.
UNION PUBLISHING HOUSE,
NEW YORK
1894.

Copyrighted according to Act of Congress.

No
THE LOYAL WOMEN OF AMERICA,
WHOSE PATRIOTIC CONTRIBUTIONS, TOILS AND SACRIFICES, ENABLED THEIR
SISTERS, WHOSE HISTORY IS HERE RECORDED, TO MINISTER
RELIEF AND CONSOLATION TO OUR WOUNDED
AND SUFFERING HEROES;
ANI WIIO BY THEIR DEVOTION, THEIR LABORS, AND THEIR FATIENT ENLURANCE
OF PRIVATION AND DISTRESS OF BODY AND SPIRIT, WIEN CALLED
TO GIVE UP THEIR BELOVED ONES FOR THE
NATION'S DEFENSE,
HAVE WON FOR THEMSELVES ETERNAL HONOR, AND THE UNDYIN REMEM
BRANCE OF THE PATRIOTS OF ALL TIME,
WE DEDICATE THIS
VOLUME.


PREFACE.
The preparation of this work, or rather the collection of material for it
was commenced in the autumn of 1863. While engaged in the compilation
of a little book on "The Philanthropic Results of the War" for circulation
abroad, in the summer of that year, the writer became so deeply impressed
with the extraordinary sacrifices and devotion of loyal women, in the national
cause, that he determined to make a record of them for the honor of his
country. A voluminous correspondence then commenced and continued to
the present time, soon demonstrated how general were the acts of patriotic
devotion, and an extensive tour, undertaken the following summer, to obtain
by personal observation and intercourse with these heroic women, a more
clear and comprehensive idea of what they had done and were doing, only
served to increase his admiration for their zeal, patience, and self-denying
effort.
Meantime the war still continued, and the collisions between Grant and Lee.
in the East, and Sherman and Johnston, in the South, the fierce campaign
between Thomas and Hood in Tennessee, Sheridan's annihilating defeats
of Early in the valley of the Shenandoah, and Wilson's magnificent expe-
dition in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, as well as the mixed naval
and military victories at Mobile and Wilmington, were fruitful in wounds,
sickness, and death. Never had the gentle and patient ministrations of
woman been so needful as in the last year of the war; and never had they
been so abundantly bestowed, and with such zeal and self-forgetfulness.
From Andersonville, and Millen, from Charleston, and Florence, from
Salisbury, and Wilmington, from Belle Isle, and Libby Prison, came also,
in these later months of the war, thousands of our bravest and noblest
heroes, captured by the rebels, the feeble remnant of the tens of thousands
imprisoned there, a majority of whom had perished of cold, nakedness,
starvation, and disease, in those charnel houses, victims of the fiendish
malignity of the rebel leaders. These poor fellows, starved to the last
degree of emaciation, crippled and dying from frost and gangrene, many of
5

6
PREFACE.
them idiotic from their sufferings, or with the fierce fever of typhus, niore
deadly than sword or minié bullet, raging in their veins, were brought
to Annapolis and to Wilmington, and unmindful of the deadly infection,
gentle and tender women ministered to them as faithfully and lovingly,
as if they were their own brothers. Ever and anon, in these works
of mercy, one of these fair ministrants died a martyr to her faithful-
ness, asking, often only, to be buried beside her“boys,'' but the work never
ceased while there was a soldier to be nursed. Nor were these the only
fields in which noble service was rendered to humanity by the women of
our time. In the larger associations of our cities, day after day, and year
after year, women served in summer's heat and winter's cold, at their desks,
corresponding with auxiliary aid societies, taking account of goods received
for sanitary supplies, re-packing and shipping them to the points where
they were needed, inditing and sending out circulars appealing for aid, in
work more prosaic but equally needful and patriotic with that performed in
the hospitals; and throughout every village and hamlet in the country,
women were toiling, contriving, submitting to privation, performing unusual
and severe labors, all for the soldiers. In the general hospitals of the cities
and larger towns, the labors of the special diet kitchen, and of the hospi-
tal nurse were performed steadily, faithfully, and uncomplainingly, though
there also, ever and anon, some fair toiler laid down her life in the service.
There were many too in still other fields of labor, who showed their love
for their country; the faithful women who, in the Philadelphia Refresh-
ment Saloons, fed the hungry soldier on his way to or from the battle-field,
till in the aggregate, they had dispensed nearly eight hundred thousand
meals, and had cared for thousands of sick and wounded; the matrons of
the Soldiers' Homes, Lodges, and Rests; the heroic souls who devoted
themselves to the noble work of raising a nation of bondmen to intelligence
and freedom; those who attempted the still more hopeless task of rousing
the blunted intellect and cultivating the moral nature of the degraded and
abject poor whites; and those who in circumstances of the greatest peril,
manifested their fearless and undying attachment to their country and its
flag; all these were entitled to a place in such a record. What wonder,
then, that, pursuing his self-appointed task assiduously, the writer found it
growing upon him; till the question came, not, who should be inscribed in
this roll, but who could be omitted, since it was evident no single volume
could do justice to all.
In the autumn of 1865, Mrs. Mary C. Vaughan, a skilful and practiced
writer, whose tastes and sympathies led her to take an interest in the work,
became associated with the writer in its preparation, and to her zeal in col-

PREFACE.
7
lecting, and skill in arranging the materials obtained, many of the interest-
ing sketches of the volume are due. We have in the prosecution of our
work been constantly embarrassed, by the reluctance of some who deserved
a prominent place, to suffer anything to be communicated concerning their
labors; by the promises, often repeated but never fulfilled, of others to
furnish facts and incidents which they alone could supply, and by the for-
wardness of a few, whose services were of the least moment, in presenting
their claims.
We have endeavored to exercise a wise and careful discrimination both
in avoiding the introduction of any name unworthy of a place in such a
record, and in giving the due meed of honor to those who have wrought
most earnestly and acceptably. We cannot hope that we have been com-
pletely successful; the letters even now, daily received, render it probable
that there are some, as faithful and self-sacrificing as any of those whose
services we have recorded, of whom we have failed to obtain information;
and that some of those who entered upon their work of mercy in the closing
campaigns of the war, by their zeal and earnestness, have won the right to
a place. We have not, knowingly, however, omitted the name of any
faithful worker, of whom we could obtain information, and we feel assured
that our record is far more full and complete, than any other which has
been, or is likely to be prepared, and that the number of prominent and
active laborers in the national cause who have escaped our notice is com-
paratively small.
We take pleasure in acknowledging our obligations to Rev. Dr. Bellows,
President of the United States Sanitary Commission, for many services and
much valuable information; to Honorable James E. Yeatman, the Presi-
dent of the Western Sanitary Commission, to Rev. J. G. Forman, late
Secretary of that Commission, and now Secretary of the Unitarian Asso-
ciation, and his accomplished wife, both of whom were indefatigable in
their effofts to obtain facts relative to western ladies; to Rev. N. M. Mann,
now of Kenosha, Wisconsin, but formerly Chaplain and Agent of the
Western Sanitary Commission, at Vicksburg; to Professor J. S. Newberry,
now of Columbia College, but through the war the able Secretary of the
Western Department of the United States Sanitary Commission; to Mrs.
M. A. Livermore, of Chicago, one of the managers of the Northwestern
Sanitary Commission; to Rev. G. S. F. Savage, Secretary of the Western
Department of the American Tract Society, Boston, Rev. William De
Loss Love, of Milwaukee, author of a work on “Wisconsin in the War,"
Samuel B. Fales, Esq., of Philadelphia, so long and nobly identified with
the Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, Dr. A. N. Read, of Norwalk, Ohio,

8
PREFACE.
late one o the Medical Inspectors of the Sanitary Commission, Di. Joseph
Parrish, of Philadelphia, also a Medical Inspector of the Commission, Mrs.
M. M. Husband, of Philadelphia, one of the most faithful workers in field
hospitals during the war, Miss Katherine P. Wormeley, of Newport, Rhode
Island, the accomplished historian of the Sanitary Commission, Mrs. W.
H. Holstein, of Bridgeport, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Miss Maria
M. C. Hall, of Washington, District of Columbia, and Miss Louise Tit-
comb, of Portland, Maine. From many of these we have received infor-
mation indispensable to the completeness and success of our work; infor-
mation too, often afforded at great inconvenience and labor. We commit
onr book, then, to the loyal women of our country, as an earnest and con-
scientious effort to portray some phases of a heroism which will make
American women famous in all the future ages of history; and with the
full conviction that thousands more only lacked the opportunity, not the
will or endurance, to do, in the same spirit of self-sacrifice, what these have
dune.
L. P. B
BROOKLYN, N. Y., Februiry, 1867.

CONTENTS.
PAGE
or co
DEDICATION....
PREFACE..
TABLE OF CONTENTS..
INTRODUCTION BY HENRY W. BELLOWS, D.D...
9
39
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Patriotism in some form, an attribute of woman in all nations and climes-Its modes of mani-
festation-The hospitals established by the Empress Helena–The Beguines and their suc-
cessors-The cantiniéres, vivandiéres, etc.-Other modes in which women manifested their
patriotism-Florence Nightingale and her labors—The results—The awakening of patriotic
zeal among American women at the opening of the war—The organization of philanthropic
effort-Hospital nurses—Hired nurses—Their services generally prompted by patriotism
rather than pay-The hospital transport system of the Sanitary Commission-Mrs. IIarris's,
Miss Barton's, Mrs. Fales', Miss Gilson's and other ladies' services at the front during the
battles of 1862–Services of other ladies at Chancellorsville, at Gettysburg—The Field Re-
lief of the Sanitary Commission, and services of ladies in the later battles—Soldiers' homes
and lodges, and their matrons--Homes for Refugees Instruction of the Freedmen-Re-
freshment Saloons at Philadelphia-Regular visiting of hospitals in the large cities—The
Soldiers' Aid Societies, and their mode of operation-Government clothing contracts--The
managers of the local Soldiers' Aid Societies--The sacrifices made by the poor to contribute
supplies--Examples—The labors of the young and the old—Inscriptions on articles-The
poor seamstress-Five hundred bushels of wheat-The five-dollar gold piece—The army of
martyrs—Effect of patriotism and self-sacrifice in elevating and ennobling the female cha-
racter...
... 49-78
SUPERINTENDENT OF NURSES.
MISS DOROTHEA L. DIX.
Eiriy history-Becomes interested in the condition of prison convicts—Visit to Europe-Returns
in 1837, and devotes herself to improving the condition of paupers, lunatics and prisoneith
Her efforts for the establishment of Insane Asylums--Second visit to Europe-Her first
work in the war the nursing of Massachusetts soldiers in Baltimore-Appointment as su-
perintendent of nurses-Her selections-Difficulties in her position-Her other duties—Mrs.
Livermore's account of her labors—The adjutant-general's order-Dr. Bellows' estimate of
her work-Her kindness to her nurses~Her publications—IIer manners and adáress-
Labors for the insane poor since the war..........
81-92
....
2
9

10
CONTENTS.
LADIES WHO MINISTERED TO THE SICK AND
WOUNDED IN CAMP, FIELD, AND GENERAL HOSPITALS.
MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
PAGO
Loyal women of the South-Their sacrifices and labors--Mrs. Potter's marriage and social po
sition-Her own and her husband's loyalty-Attempts of the Secession leaders to influence
Mr. Potter-Preparations for the war-Isolation—"The Vandals”-Labors in 1861–Family
affliction--The prisoners from James Island -The Rebel surgeon-Mrs. Potter's diplomacy
- The wretched condition of the wounded prisoners She is appointed nurse-Brutality of
the attendants-Mrs. Potter furnishes Hospital Supplies and furniture-The wounded Sol-
dier—“Mother! Mother!"-"There's your pet!”–Scurvy-Running the blockade-Spite
of the Rebels-Mr. Potter's labors-Mrs. Potter arrested by the guard—The beating and
murder of her son by rebel boys—Her devotion to the hospital work—The dying Soldier-
"Let me keep it on my heart till I die !”—The monument to the loyal dead soldiers in Mag-
nolia Cemetery.......
95-110
CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
Early life-Teaching-The Bordentown school-Obtains a situation in the Patent OfficeHer
readiness to help others—Removed from office in 1857–Return to Washington in 1861-
Nursing and providing for Massachusetts soldiers at the Capitol in April, 1861–Hospital
and sanitary work in 1861-Death of her father-Washington hospitals again-Going to
the front-Cedar Mountain-The second Bull Run battle-Chantilly-Heroic labors at An.
tietam-Soft bread-Three barrels of flour and a bag of salt-Thirty lanterns for that night
of gloom--The race for Fredericksburg-Miss Barton as a general purveyor for the sick and
wounded-The battle of Fredericksburg-Under fire–The rebel officer's appeal-The" con-
fiscated” carpet-After the battle-In the department of the South-The sands of Morris
Island–The horrors of the siege of Forts Wagner and Sumter-The reason why she went
thither-Return to the North-Preparations for the great campaign-Her labors at Belle
Plain, Fredericksburg, White House and City Point-Return to Washington-Her residence
at Annapolis-Obstacles—The Annapolis plan abandoned-She establishes at Washington
a “Bureau of records of missing men in the armies of the United States"-Her visit to An-
dersonville–The case of Dorrance Atwater-The Bureau of missing men indispensable to
the Government and to friends of the soldiers-Her sacrifices in maintaining it-The grant
from Congress Personal appearance.
111-132
HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
Early history-Her first work for the soldiers—Collecting supplies—The clothing contract-
Providing for soldiers' wives and daughters-Application to Miss Dix for an appointmerket
nurga-She is rejected as too young-Associated with Hon. Frank B. Fay in the Auxiliary
Relief Service—IIer labors on the Hospital Transports-Her mauner of working-Her ex-
traordinary personal influence-Her work at Gettysburg-Influence over the men-Carry-
ing a sick comrade to the hospital-Her system and self-possessiou-Her services in Grant's
protracted campaign-The hospitals at Fredericksburg—Singing to the soldiers-Her visit
to the barge of "contrabands”—Her address to the negroes—The hospital for colored sol-
diers-Miss Gilson re-organizes and re-models it, making it the best hospital at City Point-
Her care for the negro washerwomen and their families—Completion of her work-Per-
Bonal appearance..
....... 133-143

CONTENTS.
11
MRS. JOHN HARRIS.
PAGR
Previous history-Secretary Ladies' Aid Society-Her decision to go to the "front"-Early
experiences—On the Hospital Transports-Harrison's Landing-Her garments soaked in
human gore-Antietan-French's Division Hospital—Smoketown General Hospital, Re
turn to the "front”-Fredericksburg-Falmouth-She almost despairs of the success of our
arms-Chancellorsville—Gettysburg-Following the troops—Warrenton-Insolence of the
rebels—Illness-Goes to the West-Chattanooga-Serious illness-Return to Nashville-
Labors for the refugees—Called home to watch over a dying mother—The returued prison-
ers from Andersonville and Salisbury.......
149-160
MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
is. Porter's social position-Her patriotism-Labors in the hospitals at Cairo-She takes
charge of the North wes jern Sanitary Commission Rooms at Chicago—Her determination
to go, with a corps' of nurses, to the front-Cairo and Paducah--Visit to Pittsburg Landing
after the battle-She brings nurses and supplies for the hospitals from Chicago-At
Corinth-At Memphis-Work among the freedmen at Memphis and elsewhere-Efforts
for the establishment of hospitals for the sick and wounded in the Northwest-Co-operation
with Mrs. IIarvey and Mrs. Howe-The Harvey Hospital-At Natchez and Vicksburg-
Other appeals for Northern hospitals-At Huntsville with Mrs. Bickerdyke-At Chatta-
nooga-Experiences in a field hospital in the woods—Following Sherman's army from
Chattanooga to Atlanta—“This seems like having mother about"--Constant labors-The
distribution of supplies to the soldiers of Sherman's army near Washington-A patriotic
family.........
161-171
MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
Previous history of Mrs. Bickerdyke-Her regard for the private soldiers--"Mother Bicker-
dyke and her boys"--IIer work at Savannah after the battle of Shiloh--What she accom-
plished at Perryville—The Gayoso Hospital at Memphis-Colored nurses and attendants--
A model hospital-The delinquent assistant-surgeon-Mrs. Bickerdyke's philippic-She
procures his dismissal-IIis interview with General Sherman—“She ranks me”-The com-
manding generals appreciate her--Convalescent soldiers vs. colored nurses—The Medical
Director's order-Mrs. Bickerdyke's triumph--A dairy and hennery for the hospitals—Two
hundred cows and a thousand hens-Her first visit to the Milwaukee Chamber of Com-
merce—“Go over to Canada—This country has no place for such creatures"-At Vicks
burg-In field hospitals—The dresses riddled with sparks—The box of clothing for her.
self-Trading for butter and eggs for the soldiers—The two lace-trimmed night-dresses---A
new style of hospital clothing for wounded soldiers—A second visit to Milwaukel-Mrs.
Bickerdyke's speech-"Set your standard higher yet”-In the Huntsville IIospital-At
Chattanooga at the close of the battle-The only woman on the ground for four wecks-
Cooking under difficulties-Her interview with General Grant-Complaints of the neglect
of the men by some of the surgeons—“Go around to the hospitals and see for yourself”-
Visits Huntsville, Pulaski, etc—With Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta-Making
dishes for the sick out of hard tack and the ordinary rations-At Nashville and Franklin-
Through the Carolinas with Sherman-Distribution of supplies near Washington—"The
Freedmen's Home and Refuge" at Chicago..........
172-184

12
CONTENTS.
MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRIDGE. By Mrs. J. G. Forman.
PAGZ
Sketch of her personal appearance-Her gentle, tender, winning ways-The American Florence
Nightingalem What if I do die?—The Breckinridge family—Margaret's childhood and
youth-Her emancipation of her slaves--Working for the soldiers early in the war.Not
one of the Home Guards--Her earnest desire to labor in the hospitals—Hospital service at
Baltimore-At Lexington, Kentucky-Morgan's first raid-Her visit to the wounded sol-
diers-—"Every one of you bring a regiment with you”- Visiting the St. Louis hospitals
On the hospital boats on the Mississippi-Perils of the voyage-Severe and incessant labor-
The contrabands at Helena-Touching incidents of the wounded on the hospital boats-
“ The service pays”—In the hospitals at St. Louis--Impaired health-She goes eastward for
rest and recovery-A year of weakness and weariness-In the hospital at Philadelphia-A
ministering angel-Colonel Porter her brother-in-law killed at Cold Harbor-She goes to
Baltimore to meet the body-Is seized with typhoid fever and dies after five weeks
illness....
187-199
5
......
MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
Family of Mrs. Barker-Her husband Chaplain of First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery-She
accompanies him to Washington-Devotes herself to the work of visiting the hospitals-
Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital-She removes to Fort Albany and takes charge as
Matron of the Regimental Hospital—Pleasant experiences-Reading to the soldiers-Two
years of labor-Return to Washington in January, 1864—She becomes one of the hospital
visitors of the Sanitary Commission--Ten hospitals a week-Remitting the soldiers' money
and valuables to their families—The service of Mr. and Mrs. Barker as lecturers and mis
sionaries of the Sanitary Commission to the Aid Societies in the smaller cities and villages-
The distribution of supplies to the disbanding armies-Iler report..........
200-21
AMY M. BRADLEY.
Childhood of Miss Bradley-Her experiences as a teacher-Residence in Charleston, South
Carolina-Two years of illness—Goes to Costa Rica—Three years of teaching in Central
America-Return to the United States-Becomes corresponding clerk and translator in a
large glass manufactory-Beginning of the war-She determines to go as a nurse-Writes
to Dr. Palmer–His quaint reply-II er first experience as nurse in a regimental hospital-
Skill and tact in managing it-Promoted by General Slocum to the charge of the Brigade
Hospital-Hospital Transport Service-Over-exertion and need of rest—The organization
of the Soldiers' Home at Washington-Visiting hospitals at her leisure-Camp Misery-
Wretched condition of the men-The rendezvous of distribution-Miss Bradley goes thither
as Sanitary Commission Agent-Her zealous and multifarious labors-Bringing in the dis-
charged men for their papers-Procuring the correction of their papers, and the reinstate-
ment of tne men—"The Soldiers' Journal”—Miss Bradley's object in its establishment-Its
Kuccess Presents to Miss Bradley-Personal appearance.......
212-4
MRS. ARABELLA GRIFFITH BARLOW.
Birth and education of Mrs. Griffith-Her marriage at the beginning of the war-She accompa-
uies her husband to the camp, and wherever it is possible ministers to the wounded or sick
soldiers-Joins the Sanitary Commission in July, 1862, and labors among the sick and
wounded at Harrison's Landing till late in August-Colonel Barlow severely wounded at
Antietam--Mrs. Barlow nurses him with great tenderness, and at the same time ministers

CONTENTS.
13
Pasa
to the wunded of Sedgwick Hospital-At Chancellorsville and Gettysburg-General Barlow
again wounded, and in the enemy's lines—She removes him and succors the wounded in
the intervals of her care of him-In May, 1864, she was actively engaged at Belle Plain,
Fredericksburg, Port Royal, White House, and City Point-Her incessant labor brought on
fever and caused her death July 27, 1864Tribute of the Sanitary Commission Bulletin,
Dr. Lieber and others, to her memory...
225-233
MRS. NELLIE MARIA TAYLOR.
Parentage and early history-Removal to New Orleans-Her son urged to enlist in the rebel
army-He is sent North-The rebels persecute Mrs. Taylor-IIer dismissal from her posi-
tion as principal of one of the city schools-Her house mobbed-“I am for the Union, tear
my house down if you choose!"—Her house searched seven times for the flag-The Judge's
son—“A piece of Southern chivalry”—Her son enlists in the rebel army to save her from
molestation-New Orleans occupied by the Union forces, Mrs. Taylor reinstated as teacher-
She nurses the soldiers in the hospitals, during her vacations and in all the leisure hours
from her school duties, her daughter filling up the intermediate time with her services—
She expends her entire salary upon the sick and wounded-Writes eleven hundred and
seventy-four letters for them in one year-Distributes the supplies received from the Cin-
cinnati Branch of Sanitary Commission in 1864, and during the summer takes the manage-
ment of the special diet of the University Hospital—Testimony of the soldiers to her
labors-Patriotism and zeal of her children-Terms on which Miss Alice Taylor would pre-
sent a confederate flag to a company.
234--210
MRS. ADALINE TYLER.
Residence in Boston-Removal to Baltimore-Becomes Superintendent of a Protestant Sister-
hood in that city-Duties of the Sisterhood–The "Church Home”-Other duties of “Sister"
Tyler-The opening of the war—The Baltimore mob-Wounding and killing members of
the Sixth Massachusetts regiment,Mrs. Tyler hears that Massachusetts men are wounded
and seeks admission to them-Is refused-She persists, and threatening an appeal to Gover-
nor Andrew is finally admitted—She takes those most severely wounded to the “Church
IIome," procures surgical attendance for them, and nurses them till their recovery-Other
Union wounded nursed by her-Receives the thanks of the Massachusetts Legislature and
Governor-Is appointed Superintendent of the Camden Street Hospital, Baltimore-Resigns
at the end of a year, and visits New York-The surgeon-general urges her to take charge of
the large hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania—She remains at Chester till the hospital is
broken up, when she is transferred to the First Division General Hospital, Naval Academy,
Annapolis-The returned prisoners—Their terrible condition-Mrs. Tyler procures photo-
graphs of them-Impaired health-Resignation-She visits Europe, and spends eighteen
months there, advocating as she has opportunity the National cause–The fiendish rebel
spirit-Incident relative to President Lincoln's assassination......
241-256
........
MRS. WILLIAM H. HOLSTEIN.
Sucial position of Mr. and Mrs. Holstein-Early labors for the soldiers at home-The battle of
Antietam-She goes with her husband to care for the wounded-Her first emotions at the
sight of the wounded-Three years' devotion to the service-Mr. and Mrs. Holstein devote
themselves mainly to field hospitals--Labors at Fredericksburg, in the Second Corps Hose
pital Services after the battle of Chancellorsville—The march toward Pennsylvania ia

14
CONTENTS.
PAGB
June, 1863-The Field Hospital of the Second Corps after Gettysbu g--Incidents-
“Would n't be buried by the side of that raw recruit"-Mrs. Holstein Vatron of the
Second Corps Hospital-Tour among the Aid Societies—The campaign of 1866-5-Constant
labors in the field hospitals at Fredericksburg, City Point, and elsewhere, till November-
Another tour among the Aid Societies-Labors among the returned prisoners at Anna-
polis..........
251-259
MRS. CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY. By Rev. N. M. Mann.
The death of her husband, Governor Louis P. Harvey-Her intense grief-She resolves to devoto
herself to the care of the sick and wounded soldiers-She visits St. Louis as Agent for the
State of Wisconsin-Work in the St. Louis hospitals in the autumn of 1862—Heroic labors
at Cape Girardeau-Visiting hospitals along the Mississippi-The soldiers' ideas of her
influence and power-Young's Point in 1863—Illness of Mrs. Harvey-She detecmipes to
secure the establishment of a General Hospital at Madison, Wisconsin, where from the fine
climate the chances of recovery of the sick and wounded will be increased-Her resolution
and energy-The Harvey Hospital-The removal of the patients at Fort Pickering to it-
Repeated journeys down the Mississippi-Presented with an elegant watch by the Second
Wisconsin Cavalry-Her influence over the soldiers—The Soldiers' Orphan Asylum at
Madison........
260-208
MRS. SARAH R. JOHNSTON.
Loyal Southern women-Mrs. Johnston's birth and social position--ller interest in the Union
prisoners—"A Yankee sympathizer”—The young soldier-Her tender care of him, living
and dead-Work for the prisoners--Her persecution by the rebels-“Why don't you pin
me to the earth as you threatened”—“Sergeant, you can't make anything on that woman”-
Copying the inscriptions on Union graves, and statistics of Union prisoners—IIer visit to
the North.......
269-272
EMILY E. PARSONS. By Rev. J. G. Forinan.
Her birth and education-Her preparation for service in the hospitals-Receives instruction in
the care of the sick, dressing wounds, preparation of diet, etc-Service at Fort Schuyler
Hospital-Mrs. General Fremont secures her services for St. Louis-Condition of St. Louis
and the other river cities at this time-First assigned to the Lawson Hospital—Next to
Hospital steamer City of Alton”—The voyage from Vicksburg to Memphis-Return to St.
Louis-Illness—Appointed Superintendent of Nurses to the large Benton Barracks Hos-
pital-Her duties—The admirable management of the hospital - Visit to the East-Return
to her work-Illness and return to the East Collects and forwards supplies to Western
Sanitary Commission and Northwestern Sanitary Commission-The Chicago Fair-The
Charity Hospital at Cambridge established by her-Her cheerfulness and skill in her hos-
pital work...
273-278
MRS. ALMIRA FALES.
The first woman to work for the soldiers-She commenced in December, 1860—IIer continuous
service-Amount of stores distributed by her-Variety and severity of her work-IIospital
Transport Service-flarrison's Landing-ller work in Pope's campaign-Death of her son-
Her sorrowful toil at Fredericksburg and Falmouth--Her peculiarities and humor...... 279-283

CONTENTS.
15
CORNELIA HANCOCK.
PAGI
Kar y labors for the soldiers—Mr. Vassar's testimony-Gettysburg- Ine campaign of 1861-
Fredericksburg and City Point.....
284286
MRS. MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
Her ancestry—Patriotic instincts of the family-Service in Philadelphia hospitals-Harrison's
Landing-Nursing a sick son-Ministers to others there—Dr. Markland's testimony-At
Camden Street Hospital, Baltimore-Antietam-Smoketowl Hospital— Associated with
Miss M. M. C. Hall-Her admirable services as nurse there-Hor personal appearance
The wonderful apron with its pockets—The battle-flag-Her heroism in contagious dis-
ease-Attac.iment of the soldiers for her-Her energy and activity-Her adventures after
the battle of Chancellorsville-The Field Hospital near United States Ford-The forgetful
surgeon-Matron of Third Division, Third Corps Hospital, Gettysburg-Camp Letterman-
lllness of Mrs. Husband-Stationed at Camp Parole, Annapolis-Hospital at Brandy Sta-
tion-The battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania-Overwhelming labor at Fredericks-
burg, Port Royal, White House, and City Point-Second Corps Hospital at City Point-
Marching through Richmond-" Hurrah for mother Husband”—The visit to her "boys” at
Bailey's Cross Roads--Distribution of supplies—Mrs. Husband's labors for the pardon or
commutation of the sentence of soldiers condemned by court-martial-Her museum and its
treasures
287-298
THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
The organization of this service by the United States Sanitary Commission-Difficulties en-
countered—Steamers and sailing vessels employed-The corps of ladies employed in the
service-The headquarters' staff-Ladies plying on the Transports to Washington, Balti-
more, Philadelphia, New York, and elsewhere-Work on the Daniel Webster-The Ocean
Queen-Difficulties in providing as rapidly as was desired for the numerous patients--Duties
of the ladies who belonged to the headquarters' staff—Description of scenes in the work by
Miss Wormeley and Miss G. Woolsey—Taking on patients—"Butter on soft bread”—“Guess
I can stand h’isting better'n him”—"Spare the darning needles"_"Slippers only fit for
pontoon bridges”— Visiting Government Transports-Scrambling eggs in a wash-basin-
Subduing the captain of a tug-The battle of Fair Oaks-Bad management on Government
Transports—Sufferings of the wounded-Sanitary Commission relief tent at the wharf-
Relief tents at White IIouse depot at Savage's Station-The departure from White House
Arrival at Harrison's Landiing—Running past the rebel batteries at City Point—"I'll take
those mattresses you spoke of”—The wounded of the seven days' battles—“You are so
kind, I-am so weak”—Exchanging prisoners under flag of truce....
299-316
...
OTUER LA BORS OF SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOSPITAL
TRANSPORT CORPS.
Miss Bradley, Miss Gilson, Mrs. Husband, Miss Charlotte Bradford, Mrs. W. P. Griffin, Miss H.
D. Whetten.........
316, 317
.....
KATHERINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY.
Birth aud parentage-Commencement of her labors for the soldiers—The Woman's Union Ala
Society of Newport-She takes a contract for army clothing to furnish employment for

16
CONTENTS.
PAGI
soldiers' families-Forwarding sanitary goods—The hundred and fifty bed sacks—Miss
Wormeley's connection with the Hospital Transport Service-Her extraordinary labors-
Illness-Is appointed Lady Superintendent of the Lovell General Hospital at Portsmouth
Grove, Rhode Island—Her duties—Resigns in October, 1863—IIer volume—“The United
States Sanitary Commission”-Other labors for the soldiers..
318-323
THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
Bocial position of the Woolsey sisters-Mrs. Joseph Howland and her labors on the Hnspital
Transport-IIer tender and skilful nursing of the sick and wounded of her husband's regi-
ment-Poem addressed to her by a soldier-Her encouragement and assistance to the
women nurses appointed by Miss Dix-Mrs. Robert S. Howland-Her labors in the hospitais
and at the Metropolitan Sanitary Fair-Her early death from over-exertion in connection
with the fair-Her poetical contributions to the National cause—"In the hospital”-Miss
Georgiana M. Woolsey-Labors on Hospital Transports—At Portsmouth Grove Hospital-
After Chancellorsville-Her work at Gettysburg with her mother--“Three weeks at Gettys-
burg”—The approach to the battle-field-The Sanitary Commission's Lodge near the rail-
road depot--The supply tent-Crutches--Supplying rebels and Union men alike-Dressing
wounds-“On dress parade”-“Bread with butter on it and jelly on the butter"_“Worth a
penny a sniff”—The Gettysburg women-The Gettysburg farmers—"Had never seen a
rebel”-“A feller mighter got hit”-“I couldn't leave my bread"--The dying soldiers--
“Tell her I love her"-—The young rebel lieutenant-The colored freedmen-Praying for
“Massa Lincoln”-The purple and blue and yellow handkerchiefs—“Only a blue one"-
“The man who screamed so"--The German mother-The Oregon lieutenant-"Soup”-
“Put some meat in a little water and stirred it round"--Miss Woolsey's rare capacities for
her work-Estimate of a lady friend--Miss Jane Stuart Woolsey--Labors in hospitals-Her
charge of the Freedmen at Richmond--Miss Sarah C. Woolsey, at Portsmouth Grove
Hospital......
324342
ANNA MARIA ROSS.
Her parentage and family-Early devotion to works of charity and benevolence-Praying for
success in soliciting aid for the unfortunate--The "black small-pox"-The conductor's
wife-The Cooper Shop IIospital-Her incessant labors and tender care of her patients
HIer thoughtfulness for them when discharged-IIer unselfish devotion to the good of
others--Sending a soldier to his friends-"He must go or die"--The attachment of the sol-
diers to her-The home for discharged 'soldiers-Her efforts to provide the funds for it-Her
success --The walk to South Street-Her sudden attack of paralysis and death-The monu-
ment and its inscription........
313--351
MRS. G. T. M. DAVIS.
Mrs. Davis a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts—A patriotic family--General Bartlett-She be
comes Secretary of the Park Barracks Ladies' Association-The Bedloe's Island Hospital
The controversy--Discharge of the surgeon--Withdrawal from the Association-The hos-
pital at David's Island—Mrs. Davis's labors there-The Soldiers' Rest on IIcward Street-
She becomes the Secretary of the Ladies' Association connected with it—Visits to other
hospitals-Gratitude of the men to whom she has ministered-Appeals to the women of
Berkshire--Her encomiums on their abundant labors......
352-356

CONTENTS.
17
MARY J. SAFFORD.
PA6)
Miss Safford a native of Vermont, but a resident of Cairo-Her thorough and extensive mental
culture-She organizes temporary hospitals among the regiments stationed at Cairo-Visit-
ing the wounded on the field after the battle of Belmont-Her extemporized flag of truce-
Her remarkable and excessive labors after the battle of Shiloh-On the Hospital steamers
Among the hospitals at Cairo—“A merry Christmas” for the soldiers stationed at Cairo
Illness induced by her over-exertion-Her tour in Europe-Her labors there, while in feeble
health-Mrs. Livermore's sketch of Miss Safford-Her personal appearance and petite figure
“An angel at Cairo”-“That little gal that used to come in every day to see us—I tell
you what she's an angel if there is any”...
357-361
MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
Previous history-Early consecration to the work of beneficence in the army-Visiting George-
town Seminary Hospital-Seeks aid from the Sanitary Commission-Visits to camps around
Washington-Return to Philadelphia to enlist the sympathies of her friends in the work of
the Commission-Return to Seminary Hospital-The surly soldier-He melts at last_Visits
in other hospitals--Broad and Cherry Street Hospital, Philadelphia-Assists in organizing
a Ladies' Aid Society at Chester, and in forming a corps of volunteer nurses-At Falmouth,
Virginia, in January, 1863, with Mrs. Harris-On a tour of inspection in Virginia and North
Carolina with her husband-The exchange of prisoners-Touching scenes—The Continental
Fair--Mrs. Parrish's labors in connection with it-The tour of inspection at the Annapolis
hospitals-Letters to the Sanitary Commission-Condition of the returned prisoners—Their
hunger-The St. John's College Hospital-Admirable arrangement-Camp Parole Hospital-
The Naval Academy Hospital—The landing of the prisoners—Their frightful sufferings-
She compiles “The Soldiers' Friend” of which more than a hundred thousand copies were
circulated-Her efforts for the freedmen........
362 372
MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER.
Early efforts for the soldiers—She urges the organization of Aid Societies, and these become
auxiliary at first to the Keokuk Aid Society, which she was active in establishing--The
Iowa State Sanitary Commission-Mrs. Wittenmeyer becomes its agent-Her active efforts
for the soldiers—She disburses one hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars worth of goods
and supplies in about two years and a-half-She aids in the establishment of the Iowa
Soldiers' Orphans' Home-Her plan of special diet kitchens—The Christian Commission
appoint her their agent for carrying out this plan-Her labors in their establishment in
connection with large hospitals—Special order of the War Department—The estimate of
her services by the Christian Commission............
373-378
MELCENIA ELLIOTT.
By Rev. J. G. Forman.
Prorious pursuits-In the hospitals in Tennessee in the summer and autumn of 1862-A remark-
ably skilful nurse-Services at Memphis—The Iowa soldier-She scales the fence to watch
over him and minister to his needs, and at his death conveys his body to his friends, over-
coming all difficulties to do so—In the Benton Barracks Hospital-Volunteers to nurse the
patients in the erysipelas ward-Matron of the Refugee Home at St. Louis—"The poor
white trash”-Matron of Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Farmington, Iowa...................... 379 383
3

18
CONTENTS.
1
MARY DWIGHT PETTES. By Rev. J. G. Forman.
PAGI
A native of Boston-Came to St. Louis in 1861, and entered upon hospital work in January,
1862-Her faithful earnest work-Labors for the spiritual as well as physical welfare of the
soldiers, reading the Scriptures to them, singing to them, etc.— Attachment of the soldiers
to her-She is seized with typhoid fever contracted in her care for her patients, and dies
after five weeks' illness—Dr. Eliot's impressions of her character......
...... 384-388
By Rev. J. G. Forman.
LOUISA MAERTZ.
Be Wirth and parentage-Her residence in Germany and Switzerland–Her fondness for study-
Her extraordinary sympathy and benevolence-She commences visiting the hospitals in
her native city, Quincy, Illinois, in the autumn of 1861-She takes some of the wounded
home to her father's house and ministers to them there—She goes to St. Louis-Is commis-
sioned as a nurse-Sent to Helena, then full of wounded from the battles in Arkansas-Her
severe labors here-Almost the only woman nurse in the hospitals there—“God bless you,
dear lady”—The Arkansas Union soldier-The half-blind widow-Miss Maertz at Vicks-
burg-At New Orleans..........
390-394
MRS. HARRIET R. COLFAX.
Early life- A widow and fatherless-Her first labors in the hospitals in St. Louis-Her sympa-
thies never blunted–The sudden death of a soldier-Her religious labors among the pa-
tients—Dr. Paddock's testimony-The wounded from Fort Donelson—On the hospital boat-
In the battle at Island No. Ten-Bringing back the wounded—Mrs. Colfax's care of them-
Trips to Pittsburg Landing, before and after the battle of Shiloh-Heavy and protracted
labor for the nurses-Return to St. Louis-At the Fifth Street Hospital–At Jefferson Bar-
racks-Her associates-Obliged to retire from the service on account of her health in
1864.......
395-399
CLARA DAVIS.
Miss Davis not a native of this country-Her services at the Broad and Cherry Street Hospital,
Philadelphia-One of the Hospital Transport corps—The steamer “John Brooks”-Mile
Creek Hospital-Mrs. Husband's account of her-At Frederick City, Harper's Ferry, and
Antietam-Agent of the Sanitary Commission at Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland-Is
seized with typhoid fever here-When partially recovered, she resumes her labors, but lo
again attacked and compelled to withdraw from her work-Her other labors for the sol-
diers, both sick and well-Obtaining furloughs-Sending home the bodies of dead soldiers
Providing head-boards for the soldiers' graves..........
400-403
MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
Her home in Oswego, New York-Teaching-An anti-war Democrat is convinced of his duty
to become a soldier, though too old for the draft-Husband and wife go together-At the
Soldiers' Rest in Washington-Her first work-Matron of the hospital-At Wind-Mill
Point-Matron in the First Corps Hospital-Foraging for the sick and wounded-The
march toward Gettysburg—A heavily laden horse-Giving up her last blanket-Chivalric
instincts of American soldiers-Labors during the battle of Gettysburg—Under fire-Field
Hospital of the Eleventh Corps—The hospital at White Church-Incessant laborg-Saving
a soldier's life-“Can you go without food for a week ?"--The basin of broth-Mrs. Spencer

CONTENTS.
19
PAGB
appointed agent of the State of New York for the care of the sick and wounded soldiers in
the field-At Brandy Station-At Rappahannock Station and Belle Plain after the battle
of the Wilderness, Virginia mud-Working alone---Heavy rain and no shelter-Working
on at Belle Plain—"Nothing to wear"--Port Royal-White House-Feeding the wounded-
Arrives at City Pont-The hospitals and the Government kitchen-At the front-Carrying
supplies to the men in the rifle pits-Fired at by a sharpshooter-Shelled by the enemy--
The great explosion at City Point-Her narrow escape--Remains at City Point till the hog-
pitals are broken up--The gifts received from grateful soldiers.....
401 416
MRS. HARRIET FOOTE HAWLEY. By Mrs. H. B. Stowe.
Mrs. Hawley accompanies her husband, Colonel Ilawley, to South Carolina, Teaching the freed-
men-Visiting the hospitals at Beaufort, Fernandina and St. Augustine-After Olustee-
At the Armory Square Hospital, Washington-The surgical operations performed in the
ward—“Reaching the hospital only in time to die"-At Wilmington--Frightful condition
of Union prisoners-- Typhus fever raging --The dangers greater than those of the battle-
field-Four thousand sick-Mrs. Hawley's heroism, and incessant labors-At Richmond-
Injured by the upsetting of an anbulance--Labors among the freedmen-Colonel Higgin-
gon's speech.........
416 419
ELLEN E. MITCHELL.
Her family-Motives in entering on the work of ministering to the soldiers--Receives instruc-
tions at Bellevue Hospital-Receives a nurse's pay and gives it to the suffering soldiers-
At Elmore Hospital, Georgetown-Gratitude of the soldiers—Trials-St. Elizabeth's Hos-
pital, Washington-A dying nurse-Her own serious illness-Care and attention of Miss
Jessie Home-Death of her mother-At Point Lookout-Discomforts and suffering-Ware
House Hospital, Georgetown-Transfer of patients and nurse to Union IIotel Hospital-
Her duties arduous but pleasant-Transfer to Knight General Hospital, New Haven-Re-
signs and accepts a situation in the Treasury Department, but longing for her old work
returns to it-At Fredericksburg after battle of the Wilderness At Judiciary Square Hos-
pital, Washington-Abundant labor, but equally abundant happiness—Her feelings in the
review of her work.........
420 426
JESSIE HOME.
A Scotch maiden, but devotedly attached to the Union-Abandons a pleasant and lucrative
pursuit to become a hospital nurse-Her earnestness and zeal-Her incessant labors
Sickness and death-Cared for by Miss Bergen of Brooklyn, New York......
427, 428
MISS VANCE AND MISS BLACKMAR. By Mrs. M. M. Husband.
Miss Vance a missionary teacher before the war-Appointed by Miss Dix to a Baltimore hus-
pital-At Washington, at Alexandria, and at Gettysburg-At Fredericksburg after the
battle of the Wilderness-At City Point in the Second Corps Hospital--Served through the
whole war with but three weeks' furlough-Miss Blackmar from Michigan-A skilful and
efficient nurse-The almost fatal hemorrhage—The boy saved by her skill-Carrying a hot
brick to bed...
429, 430

20
CONTENTS.
H. A. DADA AND S. E. HALL.
PAS
Missionary teachers before the war-Attending lectures to prepare for nursing—After the first
battle of Bull Run-At Alexandria-The wounded from the battle-field-Incessant work. --
Ordered to Winchester, Virginia-The Court-IIouse Hospital-At Strasburg-General
Banks' retreat--Remaining among the enemy to care for the wounded-At Armory Square
Hospital—The second Bull Run-Rapid but skilful care of the wounded-Painful cases-
Harper's Ferry-Twelfth Army Corps Hospital—The mother in search of her son-After
Chancellorsville—The battle of Gettysburg-Labors in the First and Twelfth Corps Hos-
pitals-Sent to Murfreesboro', Tennessee-Rudeness of the Medical Director-Discomfort of
their situation-Discourtesy of the Medical Director and some of the surgeons—“We have
no ladies here-There are some women here, who are cooks!”-Removal to Chattanooga--
Are courteously and kindly received-Wounded of Sherman's campaign-“You are the
God-blessedest woman I ever saw”-Service to the close of the war and beyond-Lookout
Mountain......
431-439
MRS. SARAH P. EDSON.
Early life--Literary pursuits--In Columbia College Hospital-At Camp California-Quaker
guns-Winchester, Virginia-Prevalence of gangrene-Union Hotel Hospital--On the
Peninsula-In hospital of Sumner's Corps—Her son wounded-Transferred to Yorktown-
Sufferings of the men-At White House and the front-Beef soup and coffee for starving
wounded men-Is permitted to go to Harrison's Landing—Abundant labor and care-Chap-
lain Fuller-At Hygeia Hospital-At Alexandria-Pope's campaign-Attempts to go to
Antietam, but is detained by sickness-Goes to Warrenton, and accompanies the army
thence to Acquia Creek--Return to Washington-Forms a society to establish a home and
training school for nurses, and becomes its Secretary-Visits hospitals-State Relief Societies
approve the plan-Sanitary Commission do not approve of it as a whole-Surgeon-General
opposes-Visits New York city-The masons become interested—“Army Nurses' Associa-
tion" formed in New York-Nurses in great numbers sent on after the battles of Wilder-
ness, Spottsylvania, etc.-The experiment a success-Its eventual failure through the
mismanagement in New York-Mrs. Edson continues her labors in the army to the close
of the war-Enthusiastic reception by the soldiers.........
410-44"
MARIA M. C. HALL.
A native of Washington city-Desire to serve the sick and wounded-Receives a sick soldier
into her father's house-Too young to answer the conditions required by Miss Dix-Appli-
cation to Mrs. Fales-Attempts to dissuade her—"Well girls here they are, with everything
to be done for them”—The Indiana Hospital—Difficulties and discouragements-A year of
hard and unsatisfactory work-Hospital Transport Service-The Daniel Webster-At Har-
rison's Landing with Mrs. Fales-Condition of the poor fellows-Mrs. Harris calls her to
Antietam--French's Division and Smoketown Hospitals-Abundant work but performed
with great satisfaction - The French soldier's letter-The evening or family prayers–Suc-
cessful efforts for the religious improvement of the men-Dr. Vanderkieft-The Naval
Academy Hospital at Annapolis-In charge of Section five-Succeeds Mrs. Tyler as Lady
Superintendent of the hospital--The humble condition of the returned prisoners from
Andersonville and elsewhere-Prevalence of typuns fever--Death of her assistants-Four
thousand patients-Writes for “The Crutch”-HIer joy in the success of her work......... 148-154

CONTENTS.
21
THE HOSPITAL CORPS
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY HOSPITAL,
ANNA POLIS.
PAGE
l'he cruelties which had been prac on the Union men in rebel prisons-Duties of the nurses
under Miss Hall-Names and homes of these ladies-Death of Miss Adeline Walker-Misa
Hall's tribute to her memory--Miss Titcomb's eulogy on her-Death of Miss M. A. B.
Young-Sketch of her history—“Let me be buried here among my boys”—Miss Rose M.
Billing-Her faithfulness as a nurse in the Indiana Hospital, (Patent Office,) at Falls
Church, and at Annapolis-She like the others falls a victim to the typhus generated in
Southern prisons-Tribute to her memory...........
455-460
OTHER LABORS OF SOME
OF
THE MEMBERS OF
THE ANNAPOLIS
HOSPITAL CORPS.
The Maine stay of the Annapolis IIospital-Miss Titcomb—Miss Newhall--Miss Usher-Other
ladies from Maine—The Maine camp and Hospital Association-Mrs. Eaton—Mrs. Fogg-
Mrs. Mayhew-Miss Mary A. Dupee and her labors-Miss Abbie J. Howe-IIer labors for
the spiritual as well as physical good of the men-Her great influence over them,Her joy
in her work.......
461-408
MRS. A. H. AND MISS S. H. GIBBONS.
Mrs. Gibbons a daughter of Isaac T. Hopper-Her zeal in the cause of reform-Work of herself
and daughter in the Patent Office IIospital in 1861–Visit to Falls Church and its hospital-
Sad condition of the patients-“If you do not come and take care of me I shall die”-RO-
turn to this hospital-Its condition greatly improved-Winchester and the Seminary Hos-
pital-Severe labors here-Banks' retreat-The nurses held as prisoners-Losses of Mrs.
and Miss Gibbons at this time-At Point Lookout-Exchanged prisoners from Belle Isle-
A scarcity of garments—Trowsers a luxury-Fifteen months of hospital service-Conflicts
with the authorities in regard to the freedmen-The July riots in New York in 1863–Mrs.
Gibbons' house sacked by the rioters--Destruction of everything valuable-Return to Point
Lookout-The campaign of 1864-5—Mrs. and Miss Gibbons at Fredericksburg—An impro-
vised hospital-Mrs. Gibbons takes charge—The gift of roses—The roses withered and dyed
in the soldiers' blood-Riding with the wounded in box cars-At White House-Labors at
Beverly Hospital, New Jersey-Mrs. Gibbons' return home-Her daughter remains till the
close of the war..
467-175
MRS. E. J. RUSSELL.
Government nurses--Their trials and hardships-Mrs. Russell a teacher before the war--Her
patriotism-First connected with the Regimental Hospital of Twentieth New York Militia
(National Guards) - Assigned to Columbia College Hospital, Washington-After three years'
service resigns from impaired health, but recovering enters the service again in Baltimore-
Nursing rebels-Her attention to the religious condition of the men-Four years of ser-
vice-Returns to teaching after the war.....
477-79
MRS. MARY W. LEE.
Mrs: Lee of foreign birth, but American in feeling-Services in the Volunteer Refreshment
Saloon-A noble institution-At Harrison's Landing, with Mrs. Harris Wretched condition
of the men-Improvement under the efforts of the ladies--The Hospital of the Epiphany

22
CONTENTS.
PAGA
at Washington-At Antietam during the battle-The two water tubs—The enterprising
sutler—"Take this bread and give it to that woman”—The Sedgwick Hospital-Ordering
a guard—IIoffman's Farm Hospital-Smoketown Hospital-Potomac Creek-Chancellora-
ville-Under fire from the batteries on Fredericksburg Heights-Marching with the army-
Gettysburg—The Second Corps Hospital-Camp Letterman-The Refreshment Saloon
again-Brandy Station-A stove half a yard square--The battles of the Wilderness—At
Fredericksburg-A diet kitchen without furniture-Over the river after a stove-Baking:
boiling, stewing, and frying simultaneously-Keeping the old stove hot-At City Point-
In charge of a hospital-The last days of the Refreshment Saloon..........
480-488
MRS. ISABELLA FOGG.
A resident of Calais, Maine-Her only son volunteers, and she devotes herself to the service of
ministering to the wounded and sick-Goes to Annapolis with one of the Maine regiments
The spotted fever in the Annapolis Hospital-Mrs. Fogg and Mrs. Mayhew volunteer as
nurses—The Hospital Transport Service-At the front after Fair Oaks-Savage's Station-
Over land to Harrison's Landing with the army-Under fire-On the hospital ship-Home-
In the hospitals around Washington, after Antietam-The Maine Camp Hospital Associa-
tion--Mrs. J. S, Eaton--After Chancellorsville
In the field hospitals for nearly a week,
working day and night, and under fire--At Gettysburg the day after the battle--On the
Rapidan--At Mine Run--At Belle Plain and Fredericksburg after the battle of the Wilder-
ness-At City Point--Home again-A wounded son--Severe illness of Mrs. Fogg-Reco-
very-Sent by Christian Commission to Louisville to take charge of a special diet kitchen-
Injured by a fall-An invalid for life-Happy in the work accomplished.......
489-493
MRS. A. H. HOGE.
PAA
II er birth and early education-Her marriage-Her family-She identifies herself from the bo-
ginning with the National cause-Her first visit to the hospitals of Cairo, Mound City and
St. Louis—The Mound City Hospital-The wounded boy-Turned over for the first time-
“They had to take the Fort"-Rebel cruelties at Donelson-The poor French boy-The
mother who had lost seven sons in the Army—“He had turned his face to the wall to
die”- Mrs. IIoge at the Woman's Council at Washington in 1862—Labors of Mrs. Iloge and
Mrs. Livermore-Correspondence Circulars-Addresses - Mrs. Hoge's eloquence and
pathos—The ample contributions elicited by her appeals-Visit to the Camp of General
Grant at Young's Point, in the winter of 1862–3-Return with a cargo of wounded-Second
risit to the vicinity of Vicksburg-Prevalence of scurvy-The onion and potato circulars-
Third visit to Vicksburg in June, 1863—Incidents of this visit-The rifle-pits—
Singing Hymns under fire— 'Did you drop from heaven into these rifle-pits ?”—Mrs. Hoge's
talk to the men-“Promise me you'll visit my regiment to-morrow”—The flag of the Board
of Trade Regiment—" IIow about the blood ?”—“Sing, Rally round the Flag Boys”—The
death of R—“Take her picture from under my pillow"-Mrs. Hoge at Washington again-
Her views of the value of the Press in benevolent operations-In the Sanitary Fairs at
Chicago-Her address at Brooklyn, in March, 1865—Gifts presented her as a testimony to
the value of her labors.......
494-508
MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
Mrs. Livermore's childhood and education-She becomes a teacher-Her marriage-She is asso-
ciated with her husband as Editor of The New Covenant-Her scholarship and ability as a
writer and speaker--The vigor and eloquence of her appeals-“Women and the War"-The

CONTENTS.
23
beginnings of the Northwestern Sanitary Commission-The appointment of Mrs. Livermore
and Mrs. Iloge as its managers The contributions of Mrs. Livermore to the press, on sub-
jects connected with her work—"The backward movement of General McClellan"-The
Hutchinsons prohibited from singing Whittier's Song in the Army of the Potomac-Mrs.
Livermore's visit to Washington-Her description of “Camp Misery"-She makes a tour
to the Military Posts on the Mississippi—The female nurses—The scurvy in the Camp-
The Northwestern Sanitary Fair-Mrs. Livermore's address to the Women of the North-
west-Her tect in selecting the right persons to carry out her plans at the Fair-IIer exten-
sive journeyings-Her visit to Washington in the Spring of 1865—Her invitation to the
President to be present at the opening of the Fair-Her description of Mr. Lincoln-His
death and the funeral solemnities with which his remains were received at Chicago-The
final fair-Mrs. Livermore's testimonials of regard and appreciation from friends and, es-
pecially from the soldiers..
509-521
MRS. ANNIE ETHERIDGE.
Mrs. Etheridge's goodness and purity of character-Her childhood and girlhood passed in Wis-
consin-She marries there-Return of her father to Michigan-She visits him and while
there joins the Second Michigan Regiment, to attend to its sick and wounded-Transferred
subsequently to the Third Regiment, and at the expiration of its term of service joins the
Fifth Michigan Regiment-She is in the skirmish of Blackburn's Ford and at the first bat-
tle of Bull Run-In hospital service-On a hospital transport with Miss Amy M. Bradley-
At the second battle of Bull Run—The soldier boy torn to pieces by a shot while she is
ministering to him-General Kearny's recognition of her services—Kearny's death prevents
her receiving promotion-At Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863--She leads in a skirmish, rides
along the front exhorting the men to do their duty, and finds herself under heavy fire
An officer killed by her side and she herself slightly wounded-Her horse, wounded, runs
with her-She seeks General Berry and after a pleasant interview takes charge of a
rebel officer, a prisoner, whom she escorts to the rear_“I would risk my life for Annie, any
time”-General Berry's death—The wounded artillery-man-She binds up his wounds and
has lim brought to the hospital-Touching letter–The retreating soldiers at Spottsylva.
nia-Annie remonstrates with them, and brings them back into the fight, under heavy
fire-Outside the lines, and closely pursued by the enemy-Hatcher's Run-She dashes
through the enemy's line unhurt-She receives a Government appointment at the close of
tike war-Her modesty and diffidence of demeanor.
.... 525-531


INTRODUCTION.
A RECORD of the personal services of our American women in the late
Civil War, however painful to the modesty of those whom it brings con-
spicuously before the world, is due to the honor of the country, to the
proper understanding of our social life, and to the general interests of a sex
whose rights, duties and capacities are now under serious discussion. Most
of the women commemorated in this work inevitably lost the benefits of
privacy, by the largeness and length of their public services, and their
names and history are to a certain extent the property of the country. At
any rate they must suffer the penalty which conspicuous merit entails upon
its possessors, especially when won in fields of universal interest.
Notwithstanding the pains taken to collect from all parts of the country,
the names and history of the women who in any way distinguished them-
selves in the War, and in spite of the utmost impartiality of purpose, there
is no pretence that all who served the country best, are named in this
record. Doubtless thousands of women, obscure in their homes, and hum-
ble in their fortunes, without official position even in their local society, and
all human trace of whose labors is forever lost, contributed as generously
of their substance, and as freely of their time and strength, and gave as
unreservedly their hearts and their prayers to the cause, as the most con-
spicuous on the shining list here unrolled. For if
“The world knows nothing of its greatest men,”
it is still more true of its noblest women. Unrewarded by praise, unsullied
by self-complacency, there is a character of no reputation," which formed
in strictest retirement, and in the patient exercise of unobserved sacrifices.
is dearer and holier in the eye of Heaven, than the most illustrious name
won by the most splendid services. Women there were in this war, who
without a single relative in the army, denied themselves for the whole four
39

40
INTRODUCTION.
years, the comforts to which they had been always accustomed; went thinly
clad, took the extra blanket from their bed, never tasted tea, or sugar, or
flesh, that they might wind another bandage round some unknown soldier's
wound, or give some parched lips in the hospital another sip of wine.
Others never let one leisure moment, saved from lives of pledged labor
which barely earned their bread, go unemployed in the service of the
soldiers. God Himself keeps this record! It is too sacred to be trusted to
men.
But it is not such humble, yet exalted souls that will complain of the
praise which to their neglect, is allotted to any of their sisters. The ranks
always contain some heroes braver and better than the most fortunate and
conspicuous officers of staff or line-but they feel themselves best praised
when their regiment, their corps, or their general is gazetted. And the
true-hearted workers for the soldiers among the women of this country will
gladly accept the recognition given to the noble band of their sisters whom
peculiar circumstances lifted into distinct view, as a tribute offered to the
whole company. Indeed, if the lives set forth in this work, were regarded
as exceptional in their temper and spirit, as they certainly were in their
incidents and largeness of sphere, the whole lesson of the Record would be
misread. These women in their sacrifices, their patriotism, and their per-
sistency, are only fair representatives of the spirit of their whole sex. As
a rule, American women exhibited not only an intense feeling for the sol-
diers in their exposures and their sufferings, but an intelligent sympathy
with the national cause, equal to that which furnished among the
men,
two
million and three hundred thousand volunteers.
It is not unusual for women of all countries to weep and to work for those
encounter the perils of war. But the American women, after giving
up, with a principled alacrity, to the ranks of the gathering and advancing
army, their husbands and sons, their brothers and lovers, proceeded to
ai ganize relief for them; and they did it, not in the spasmodic and senti-
mertal way, which has been common elsewhere, but with a self-controlled
and rational consideration of the wisest and best means of accomplishing
their purpose, which showed them to be in some degree the products and
representatives of a new social era, and a new political development.
The distinctive features in woman's work in this war, were magnitude,
system, thorough co-operativeness with the other sex, distinctness of pur-
pose, business-like thoroughness in details, sturdy persistency to the close.
There was no more general rising among the
men,
than among
the women.
Men did not take to the musket, more commonly than women took to the
needle; and for every assembly where men met for mutual excitation in the

INTRODUCTION.
41
any war
in
service of the country, there was some corresponding gathering of women,
to stir each other's hearts and fingers in the same sacred cause. All the
caucuses and political assemblies of every kind, in which speech and song
quickened the blood of the men, did not exceed in number the meetings.
in the form of Soldiers' Aid Societies, and Sewing Circles, which the
women held, where they talked over the national cause, and fed the fires
of sacrifice in each other's hearts. Probably never in
any coun-
try, was there so universal and so specific an acquaintance on the part of
both men and women, with the principles at issue, and the interests at
stake. And of the two, the women were clearer and more united than the
men, because their moral feelings and political instincts were not so much
affected by selfishness and business, or party considerations. The work
which our system of popular education does for girls and boys alike, and
which in the middle and upper classes practically goes further with girls
than with boys, told magnificently at this crisis. Everywhere, well edu-
cated women were found fully able to understand and explain to their
sisters, the public questions involved in the war. Everywhere the news-
papers, crowded with interest and with discussions, found
eager
and appre-
ciative readers among the gentler sex. Everywhere started up women
acquainted with the order of public business; able to call, and preside over
public meetings of their own sex; act as secretaries and committees, draft
constitutions and bye-laws, open books, and keep accounts with adequate
precision, appreciate system, and postpone private inclinations or prefer-
ences to general principles; enter into extensive correspondence with their
own sex: co-operate in the largest and most rational plans proposed by men
who had studied carefully the subject of soldiers' relief, and adhere through
good report and through evil report, to organizations which commended
themselves to their judgment, in spite of local, sectarian, or personal jeal-
ousies and detractions.
It is impossible to over-estimate the amount of consecrated work done by
the loyal women of the North for the Army. Hundreds of thousands of
women probably gave all the leisure they could command, and all the money
they could save and spare, to the soldiers for the whole four years and morc,
of the War. Amid discouragements and fearful delays they never flagged,
but to the last increased in zeal and devotion. And their work was as sys-
tematic as it was universal. A generous emulation among the Branches of
the United States Sanitary Commission, managed generally by women,
usually, however, with some aid from men, brought their business habits
and methods to an almost perfect finish. Nothing that men commonly
think peculiar to their own methods was wanting in the plans of the women.
6

42
INTRODUCTION.
They acknowledged and answered, endorsed and filed their letters; they
sorted their stores, and kept an accurate account of stock; they had their
books and reports kept in the most approved forms; they balanced their
cash accounts with the most pains-taking precision; they exacted of each
other regularity of attendance and punctiliousness of official etiquette.
They showed in short, a perfect aptitude for business, and proved by their
own experience that men can devise nothing too precise, too systematic or
too complicated for women to understand, apply and improve upon, where
there is any sufficient motive for it.
It was another feature of the case that there was no jealousy between
women and men in the work, and no disposition to discourage, underrate,
or dissociate from each other. It seemed to be conceded that men had
more invention, comprehensiveness and power of generalization, and that
their business habits, the fruits of ages of experience, were at least worth
studying and copying by women. On the other hand, men, usually jealous
of woman's extending the sphere of her life and labors, welcomed in this
case her assistance in a public work, and felt how vain men's toil and sac-
rifices would be without woman's steady sympathy and patient ministry of
mercy, her more delicate and persistent pity, her willingness to endure mo-
notonous details of labor for the sake of charity, her power to open the
heart of her husband, and to keep alive and flowing the fountains of com-
passion and love.
No words are adequate to describe the systematic, persistent faithfulness
of the women who organized and led the Branches of the United States
Sanitary Commission. Their volunteer labor had all the regularity of paid
service, and a heartiness and earnestness which no paid services can ever
have. Hundreds of women evinced talents there, which, in other spheres
and in the other sex, would have made them merchant-princes, or great
administrators of public affairs. Storms nor heats could keep them from
their posts, and they wore on their faces, and finally evinced in their break-
ing constitutions, the marks of the cruel strain put upon their minds and
hearts. They engaged in a correspondence of the most trying kind, requir-
ing the utmost address to meet the searching questions asked by intelligent
jealousy, and to answer the rigorous objections raised by impatience or ig-
norance in the rural districts. They became instructors of whole townships
in the methods of government business, the constitution of the Commissary
and Quartermaster's Departments, and the forms of the Medical Bureau.
They had steadily to contend with the natural desire of the Aid Societies
for local independence, and to reconcile neighborhoods to the idea of being
merged and lost in large generalizations. They kept up the spirit of the

INTRODUCTION.
43
people distant from the war and the camps, by a steady fire of letters full of
touching incidents; and they were repaid not only by the most generous
returns of stores, but by letters from humble homes and lonely hearts, so
full of truth and tenderness, of wisdom and pity, of self-sacrifice and patri-
otic consecration, that the most gifted and educated women in America,
many of them at the head of the Branches or among their Directors, felt
constantly reproved by the nobleness, the sweetness, the depth of sentiment
that welled from the hidden and obscure springs in the hearts of farmers'
wives and factory-girls.
Nor were the talents and the sacrifices of those at the larger Depôts or
Centres, more worthy of notice than the skill and pains evinced in arous-
ing, maintaining and managing the zeal and work of county or town socie-
ties. Indeed, sometimes larger works are more readily controlled than
smaller ones; and jealousies and individual caprices obstruct the co-opera-
tion of villages more than of towns and cities.
In the ten thousand Soldiers' Aid Societies which at one time or another
probably existed in the country, there was in each some master-spirit, whose
consecrated purpose was the staple in the wall, from which the chain of
service hung and on whose strength and firmness it steadily drew. I never
visited a single town however obscure, that I did not hear some woman's
name which stood in that community for “Army Service;" a name round
which the rest of the women gladly rallied; the name of some woman
whose heart was felt to beat louder and more firmly than any of the rest for
the boys in blue.
Of the practical talent, the personal worth, the aptitude for public ser-
vice, the love of self-sacrificing duty thus developed and nursed into power,
and brought to the knowledge of its possessors and their communities, it is
difficult to speak too warmly. Thousands of women learned in this work
to despise frivolity, gossip, fashion and idleness; learned to think soberly
and without prejudice of the capacities of their own sex; and thus, did
more to advance the rights of woman by proving her gifts and her fitness
for public duties, than a whole library of arguments and protests.
The prodigious exertions put forth by the women who founded and con-
ducted the great Fairs for the soldiers in a dozen principal cities, and in
many large towns, were only surpassed by the planning skill and adminis-
trative ability which accompanied their progress, and the marvellous success
in which they terminated. Months of anxious preparation, where hun-
dreds of committees vied with each other in long-headed schemes for secur-
ing the co-operation of the several trades or industries allotted to each, and
during which laborious days and anxious nights were unintermittingly givel

44
INTRODUCTION.
to the wearing work, were followed by weeks of personal service in the fairs
themselves, where the strongest women found their vigor inadequate to the
task, and hundreds laid the foundations of long illness and some of sudden
death. These sacrifices and far-seeing provisions were justly repaid by al-
most fabulous returns of money, which to the extent of nearly three mil-
lions of dollars, flowed into the treasury of the United States Sanitary
Commission. The chief women who inaugurated the several great Fairs at
New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis,
and administered these vast movements, were not behind the ablest men in
the land in their grasp and comprehension of the business in hand, and
often in comparison with the men associated with them, exhibited a finer
scope, a better spirit and a more victorious faith. But for the women of
America, the great Fairs would never have been born, or would have died
ignominiously in their gilded cradles. Their vastness of conception and
their splendid results are to be set as an everlasting crown on woman's ca-
pacity for large and money-yielding enterprises. The women who led them
can never sink back into obscurity.
But I must pass from this inviting theme, where indeed I feel more at
home than in what is to follow, to the consideration of what naturally occu-
pies a larger space in this work-however much smaller it was in reality,
i. e., to the labors of the women who actually went to the war, and worked
in the hospitals and camps.
Of the labors of women in the hospitals and in the field, this book gives
a far fuller history than is likely to be got from any other source, as this
sort of service cannot be recorded in the histories of organized work. For,
far the largest part of this work was done by persons of exceptional energy
and some fine natural aptitude for the service, which was independent of
organizations, and hardly submitted itself to any rules except the impulses
of devoted love for the work-supplying tact, patience and resources. The
women who did hospital service continuously, or who kept themselves near
the base of armies in the field, or who moved among the camps, and trav-
elled with the corps, were an exceptional class—as rare as heroines always
are-a class, representing no social grade, but coming from all-belonging
to no rank or age of life in particular; sometimes young and sometimes
old, sometimes refined and sometimes rude; now of fragile physical aspect
and then of extraordinary robustness—but in all cases, women with a
mighty love and earnestness in their hearts-a love and pity, and an ability
to show it forth and to labor in behalf of it, equal to that which in other
departments of life, distinguishes poets, philosophers, sages and saints,
from ordinary or average men.

INTRODUCTION.
45
Moved by an indomitable desire to serve in person the victinis of wounds
and sickness, a few hundred women, impelled by instincts which assured
them of their ability to endure the hardship, overcome the obstacles, and
adjust themselves to the unusual and unfeminine circumstances in which
they would be placed-made their way through all obstructions at home,
and at the seat of war, or in the hospitals, to the bed-sides of the sick and
wounded men. Many of these women scandalized their friends at home
by what seemed their Quixotic resolution; or, they left their families under
circumstances which involved a romantic oblivion of the recognized and
usual duties of domestic life; they forsook their own children, to make
children of a whole army corps; they risked their lives in fevered hospitals;
they lived in tents or slept in ambulance wagons, for months together; they
fell sick of fevers themselves, and after long illness, returned to the cld
business of hospital and field service. They carried into their work their
womanly tenderness, their copious sympathies, their great-hearted devo.
tion--and had to face and contend with the cold routine, the semi-savage
professional indifference, which by the necessities of the case, makes ordi-
nary medical supervision, in time of actual war, impersonal, official, unsym.
pathetic and abrupt. The honest, natural jealousy felt by surgeons-in-
charge, and their ward masters, of all outside assistance, made it necessary
for every woman, who was to succeed in her purpose of holding her place,
and really serving the men, to study and practice an address, an adaptation
and a patience, of which not one candidate in ten was capable. Doubtless
nine-tenths of all who wished to offer and thought themselves capable of
this service, failed in their practical efforts. As many women fancied them-
selves capable of enduring hospital life, as there are always in every college,
youth who believe they can become distinguished authors, poets and states-
men. But only the few who had a genius for the work, continued in it, and
succeeded in elbowing room for themselves through the never-ending
obstacles, jealousies and chagrins that beset the service. Every woman
who keeps her place in a general hospital, or a corps hospital, has to prove
her title to be trusted; her tact, discretion, endurance and strength of nerve
and fibre. No one woman succeeded in rendering years of hospital service,
who was not an exceptional person-a woman of larger heart, clearer head,
finer enthusiasm, and more mingled tact, courage, firmness and holy will-
than one in a thousand of her sex. A grander collection of women-
whether considered in their intellectual or their moral qualities, their heads
or their hearts, I have not had the happiness of knowing, than the women
I saw in the hospitals; they were the flower of their sex. Great as were
the labors of those who superintended the operations at home--of collecting

46
INTRODUCTION.
and preparing supplies for the hospitals and the field, I cannot but think
that the women who lived in the hospitals, or among the soldiers, required a
force of character and a glow of devotion and self-sacrifice, of a rarer kind.
They were really heroines. They conquered their feminine sensibility at
the sight of blood and wounds; their native antipathy to disorder, confu-
sion and violence; subdued the rebellious delicacy of their more exquisite
senses; lived coarsely, and dressed and slept rudely; they studied the
caprices of men to whom their ties were simply human-men often igno-
rant, feeble-minded-out of their senses-raving with pain and fever; they
had a still harder service to bear with the pride, the official arrogance, the
hardness or the folly—perhaps the impertinence and presumption of half-
trained medical men, whom the urgencies of the case had fastened on the
service. * Their position was always critical, equivocal, suspected, and to
be justified only by their undeniable and conspicuous merits; their wisdom,
patience and proven efficiency; justified by the love and reverence they ex-
acted from the soldiers themselves!
True, the rewards of these women were equal to their sacrifices. They
drew their pay from a richer treasury than that of the United States Gov-
ernment. I never knew one of them who had had a long service, whose
memory of the grateful looks of the dying, of the few awkward words that
tell from the lips of thankful convalescents, or the speechless eye-following
of the dependent soldier, or the pressure of a rough hand, softened to
womanly gentleness by long illness,-was not the sweetest treasure of all
their lives. Nothing in the power of the Nation to give or to say, can ever
compare for a moment with the proud satisfaction which every brave
soldier who risked his life for his country, always carries in his heart of
hearts. And no public recognition, no thanks from a saved Nation, can
ever add anything of much importance to the rewards of those who tasted
the actual joy of ministering with their own hands and hearts to the wants
of one sick and dying man.
It remains only to say a word about the influence of the work of the
women in the War upon the strength and unanimity of the public senti-
ment, and on the courage and fortitude of the army itself.
The participation by actual work and service in the labors of the War,
* A large number of the United States Army and volunteer surgeons were in-
deed men of the highest and most humane character, and treated the women who
came to the hospitals, with careful and scrupulous consideration. Some women
were able to say that they never encountered opposition or hindrance from any
officials; but this was not the rule.

INTRODUCTION.
47
not only took out of women's hearts the soreness which unemployed ener-
gies or incongruous pursuits would have left there, but it took out of their
mouths the murmurs and moans which their deserted, husbandless, childless
condition would so naturally have provoked. The women by their call to
work, and the opportunity of pouring their energies, sympathies and affec-
tions into an ever open and practical channel, were quieted, reconciled,
upheld. The weak were borne upon the bosoms of the strong. Banded
together, and working together, their solicitude and uneasiness were alle-
viated. Following in imagination the work of their own hands, they seemed
to be present on the field and in the ranks; they studied the course of the
armies; they watched the policy of the Government; they learned the
character of the Generals; they threw themselves into the war! And so
they helped wonderfully to keep up the enthusiasm, or to rebuke the luke-
warmness, or to check the despondency and apathy which at times settled
over the people. Men were ashamed to doubt where women trusted, or to
murmur where they submitted, or to do little where they did so much. If
during the war, home life had gone on as usual; women engrossed in their
domestic or social cares; shrinking from public questions; deferring to what
their husbands or brothers told them, or seeking to amuse themselves with
social pleasures and striving to forget the painful strife in frivolous caprices,
it would have had a fearful effect on public sentiment, deepening the gloom
of every reverse, adding to the discouragements which an embarrassed
commerce and trade brought to men's hearts, by domestic echoes of weari-
ness of the strife, and favoring the growth of a disaffected, compromising,
unpatriotic feeling, which always stood ready to break out with any offered
encouragement. A sense of nearness of the people to the Government
which the organization of the women effected, enlarged their sympathies
with its movements and disposed them to patience. Their own direct ex-
perience of the difficulties of all co-operative undertakings, broadened their
views and rendered intelligible the delays and reverses which our national
cause suffered. In short the women of the country were through the whole
conflict, not only not softening the fibres of war, but they were actually
strengthening its sinews by keeping up their own courage and that of their
households, under the inspiration of the larger and more public life, the
broader work and greater field for enterprise and self-sacrifice afforded them
by their direct labors for the benefit of the soldiers. They drew thousands of
lukewarm, or calculating, or self-saving men into the support of the national
cause by their practical enthusiasm and devotion. They proved what has
again and again been demonstrated, that what the women of a country resolve
shall be done, will and must be done. They shamed recruits into the ranks,

48
INTRODUCTION.
and made it almost impossible for deserters, or cowards, or malingerers to
come home; they emptied the pockets of social idlers, or wealthy drones, into
the treasuries of the Aid Societies; and they compelled the shops and do-
mestic trade of all cities to be favorable to the war. The American women
were nearer right and more thoroughly united by this means, and their own
healthier instincts, than the American men. The Army, whose bayonets
were glittering needles, advanced with more unbroken ranks, and exerted
almost a greater moral force than the army that carried loaded muskets.
The Aid Societies and the direct oversight the women sought to give the
men in the field, very much increased the reason for correspondence between
the homes and the tents.
The women were proud to write what those at the hearth-stone were
doing for those who tended the camp-fires, and the men were happy and
cheery to acknowledge the support they received from this home sympathy.
The immense correspondence between the army and the homes, prodigious
beyond belief as it was, some regiments sending home a thousand letters a
week, and receiving as many more back; the constant transmission to the
men of newspapers, full of the records of home work and army news, pro-
duced a homogeneousness of feeling between the soldiers and the citizens,
which kept the men in the field, civilians, and made the people at home, of
both sexes, half-soldiers.
Thus there never grew up in the army any purely military and anti-social
or anti-civil sentiments. The soldiers studied and appreciated all the time
the moral causes of the War, and were acquainted with the political as well
as military complications. They felt all the impulses of hopie strengthen-
ing their arms and encouraging their hearts. And their letters home, as a
rule, were designed to put the best face upon things, and to encourage their
wives and sweet-hearts, their sisters and parents, to bear their absence with
fortitude, and even with cheerfulness.
The influence on the tone of their correspondence, exerted by the fact
that the women were always working for the Army, and that the soldier
always knew they were working, and were always receiving evidence of
their care, may be better imagined than described. It largely ministered to
that sympathetic unity between the soldiers and the country, which made
oux army always a corrective and an inspiration to our Governmental policy,
and kept up that fine reciprocal influence between civil and military life,
which gave an heroic fibre to all souls at home, and finally restored us our
soldiers with their citizen hearts beating regularly under their uniforms, as
they dropped them off at the last drum-tap.
H. W. B.

WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Patriotism in some form, an attribute of woman in all nations and climes—Its nodes of manifesta-
tion--Pæans for victory-Lamentations for the death of a heroic leader-Personal leadership by
women-The assassination of tyrants--The care of the sick and wounded of national armies—The
hospitals established by the Empress Helena—The Beguines and their successors—The cantiniéres,
vivandiéres, etc.—Other modes in which women manifested their patriotism-Florence Nightingale
and her labors-The results—The awakening of patriotic zeal among American women at the
opening of the war-The organization of philanthropic effort-Hospital nurses-Miss Dix's re-
jection of great numbers of applicants on account of youth-Hired nurses—Their services gene
rally prompted by patriotism rather than pay—The State relief agents (ladies) at Washington,
The hospital transport system of the Sanitary Commission-Mrs. Harris's, Miss Barton's, Mrs.
Fales', Miss Gilson's, and other ladies' services at the front during the battles of 1862–Services of
other ladies at Chancellorsville, at Gettysburg—The Field Relief of the Sanitary Commission, and
services of ladies in the later battles-Voluntary services of women in the armies in the field at
the West-Services in the hospitals, of garrisons and fortified towns-Soldiers' homes and lodges,
and their matrons-Homes for Refugees-Instruction of the Freedmen-Refreshment Saloons at
Philadelphia--Regular visiting of hospitals in the large cities--The Soldiers' Aid Societies, and
their mode of operation-The extraordinary labors of the managers of the Branch Societies
Government clothing contracts-Mrs. Springer, Miss Wormeley and Miss Gilson-The managers
of the local Soldiers' Aid Societies—The sacrifices made by the poor to contribute supplies
Examples—The labors of the young and the old-Inscriptions on articles—The poor seamstress--
Five hundred bushels of wheat—The five dollar gold piece—The army of martyrs—The effect of
this female patriotism in stimulating the courage of the soldiers—Lack of persistence in this work
among the Women of the South-Present and future-Effect of patriotism and self-sacrifice in
elevating and ennobling the female character.
N intense and passionate love of country, holding, for
the time, all other ties in abeyance, has been a not un-
common trait of character among women of all countries
and climes, throughout the ages of human history. In
the nomadic races it assumed the form of attachment to the patri-
archal rules and chiefs of the tribe; in the more savage of the
localized nations, it was reverence for the ruler, coupled with a
filial regard for the resting-places and graves of their ancestors.
7
49

50
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
But in the more highly organized and civilized countr.es, it
was the institutions of the nation, its religion, its sacrel traditions,
its history, as well as its kings, its military leaders, and its priests,
that were the objects of the deep and intense patriotic devotion of
its noblest and most gifted women.
The manifestations of this patriotic zeal were diverse in different
countries, and at different periods in the same country. At one
time it contented itself with triumphal pæans and dances over
victories won by the nation's armies, as in the case of Miriam and
the maidens of Israel at the destruction of the Egyptians at the
Red Sea, or the victories of she armies led by David against the
Philistines; or in the most heart-rending lamentations over the
fall of the nation's heroes on the field of battle, as in the mourning
of the Trojan maidens over the death of Hector; at other times,
some brave and heroic spirit, goaded with the sense of her
country's wrongs, girds upon her own fair and tender form, the
armor of proof, and goes forth, the self-constituted but eagerly
welcomed leader of its mailed hosts, to overthrow the nation's foes.
We need only recal Deborah, the avenger of the Israelites against
the oppressions of the King of Canaan; Boadicea, the daring
Queen of the Britons, and in later times, the heroic but hapless
maid of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc; and in the Hungarian war of
1848, the brave but unfortunate Countess Teleki, as examples of
these female patriots.
In rare instances, this sense of the nation's sufferings from a
tyrants oppression, have so wrought upon the sensitive spirit, as
to stimulate it to the determination to achieve the country's free-
dom by the assassination of the oppressor. It was thus that Jael
brought deliverance to her country by the murder of Sisera ;
Judith, by the assassination of Holofernes; and in modern times,
Charlotte Corday sought the rescue of France from the grasp
of
the murderous despot, Marat, by plunging the poniard to bis
heart.
A far nobler, though less demonstrative manifestation of patri.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
51
otic devotion than either of these, is that which has proinpted
women in all ages to become ministering angels to the sick, the
suffering, and the wounded among their countrymen who have
periled life and health in the nation's cause.
Occasionally, even in the earliest recorded wars of antiquity, we
find high-born maidens administering solace to the wounded
heroes on the field of battle, and attempting to heal their wounds
by the appliances of their rude and simple surgery; but it was
only the favorite leaders, never the common soldier, or the subor-
dinate officer, who received these gentle attentions. The influence
of Christianity, in its earlier development, tended to expand the
sympathies and open the heart of woman to all gentle and holy
influences, and it is recorded that the wounded Christian soldiers
were, where it was possible, nursed and cared for by those of the
sáme faith, both men and women.
In the fifth century, the Empress Helena established hospitals for
the sick and wounded soldiers of the empire, on the routes between
Rome and Constantinople, and caused them to be carefully nursed.
In the dark ages that followed, and amid the downfall of the
Roman Empire, and the uprearing of the Gothic kingdoms that
succeeded, there was little room or thought of mercy; but the fair-
haired women of the North encouraged their heroes to deeds of
valor, and at times, ministered in their rude way to their wounds.
The monks, at their monasteries, rendered some care and aid to
the wounded in return for their exemption from plunder and ra-
pine, and in the ninth century, an order of women consecrated to
the work, the Beguines, predecessors of the modern Sisters of
Charity, was established “to minister to the sick and wounded of
the armies which then, and for centuries afterward, scarred the
face of continental Europe with battle-fields.” With the Beguines,
however, and their successors, patriotism was not so much the
controlling motive of action, as the attainment of merit by those
deeds of charity and self-sacrifice.
In the wars of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and the early part

52
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of the nineteenth century, while the hospitals had a moderate
share of fair ministrants, chiefly of the religious orders, the only
female service on the battle-field or in the camp, often the scene of
fatal epidemics, was that of the cantiniéres, vivandiéres, filles du
regiment, and other camp followers, who, at some risk of reputa-
tion, accompanied the armies in their march, and brought to the
wounded and often dying soldier, on the field of battle, the
draught of water which quenched his raging thirst, or the cordial,
which sustained his fast ebbing strength till relief could come.
Humble of origin, and little circumspect in morals as many of
these women were, they are yet deserving of credit for the courage
and patriotism which led them to brave all the horrors of death,
to relieve the suffering of the wounded of the regiments to which
they were attached. Up to the period of the Crimean war in
1854, though there had been much that was praiseworthy in the
nianifestations of female patriotism in connection with the move-
ments of great armies, there had never been any systematic minis-
tration, prompted by patriotic devotion, to the relief of the suffering
sick and wounded of those armies.
There were yet other modes, however, in which the women of
ancient and modern times manifested their love of their country.
The Spartan mother, who, without a tear, presented her sons with
their shields, with the stern injunction to return with them, or
upon them, that is, with honor untarnished, or deal,--the fair
dames and maidens of Carthage, who divested themselves of their
beautiful tresses, to furnish bowstrings for their soldiers,—the
Jewish women who preferred a death of torture, to the acknow-
ledgment of the power of the tyrant over their country's rulers,
and their faith—the women of the Pays-de Vaud, whose moun-
tain fastnesses and churches were dearer to them than life-the
thousands of wives and mothers, who in our revolutionary strug-
gle, and in our recent war, gave up freely at their country's call,
their best beloved, regretting only that they had no more to give;
knowing full well, that in giving them up they condemned

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
53
themselves to penury and want, to hard, grinding toil, and
privations such as they had never before experienced, and not im-
probably to the rending, by the rude vicissitudes of war, of those
ties, dearer than life itself—those who in the presence of ruffians,
capable of any atrocity dared, and in many cases suffered, a violent
death, and indignities worse than death, by their fearless defense
of the cause and flag of their country—and yet again, those who,
in peril of their lives, for the love they bore to their country,
guided hundreds of escaped prisoners, through the regions haunted
by foes, to safety and freedom—all these and many others, whose
deeds of heroism we have not space so much as to name, have
shown their love of country as fully and worthily, as those who
in hospital, in camp or on battle-field have ministered to the
battle-scarred hero, or those who, in all the panoply of war, have
led their hosts to the deadly charge, or the fierce affray of con-
tending armies.
Florence Nightingale, an English gentlewoman, of high social
position and remarkable executive powers, was the first of her
sex, at least among English-speaking nations, to systematize the
patriotic ardor of her countrywomen, and institute such measures
of reform in the care of sick and wounded soldiers in military
hospitals, as should conduce to the comfort and speedy recovery
of their inmates. She had voluntarily passed through the course
of training, required of the hospital nurses and assistants, in
Pastor Fliedner's Deaconess' Institution, at Kaiserswerth on the
Rhine, before she entered upon her great mission in the hospitals
at Scutari. She was ably seconded in her labors by other ladies
of rank from England, who, actuated only by patriotic zeal, gave
themselves to the work of bringing order out of chaos, cheerful-
ness out of gloom, cleanliness out of the most revolting filth, and
the sunshine of health out of the lazar house of corruption and
death. In this heroic undertaking they periled their lives, more
certainly, than those who took part in the fierce charge of Bala-
clava Some fell victims to their untiring zeal; others, and Miss

54
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Nightingale among the number, were rendered hopeless invalida
for life, by their exertions.
Fifty years of peace had rendered our nation more entirely
unacquainted with the arts of war, than was Great Britain, when,
at the close of forty years of quiet, she again marshalled her
troops in battle array. But though the transition was sudden
from the arts of peace to the din and tumult of war, and the
blunders, both from inexperience and dogged adherence to rou-
tine, were innumerable, the hearts of the people, and especially
the hearts of the gentler sex, were resolutely set upon one thing;
that the citizen soldiers of the nation should be cared for, in
sickness or in health, as the soldiers of no nation had ever been
before. Soldiers' Aid Societies, Sewing Circles for the soldiers,
and Societies for Relief, sprang up simultaneously with the organ-
ization of regiments, in every village, town, and city throughout
the North. Individual benevolence kept pace with organized
charity, and the managers of the freight trains and expresses,
running toward Washington, were in despair at the fearful accu-
mulation of freight for the soldiers, demanding instant transpor-
tation. It was inevitable that there should be waste and loss in
this lavish outpouring; but it was a manifestation of the patriotic
feeling which throbbed in the hearts of the people, and which,
through four years of war, never ceased or diminished aught of
its zeal, or its abundant liberality. It was felt instinctively, that
there would soon be a demand for nurses for the sick and
wounded, and fired by the noble example of Florence Nightin-
gale, though too often without her practical training, thousands
of young, fair, and highly educated women offered themselves for
the work, and strove for opportunities for their gentle ministry,
as in other days they might have striven for the prizes of fortune.
Soon order emerged from the chaos of benevolent impulse; the
Sanitary Commission and its affiliated Societies organized and
wisely directed much of the philanthropic effort, which would
otherwise have failed of accomplishing its intended work through

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
55
2
misdirection; while other Commissions, Associations, and skil-
fully managed personal labors, supplemented what was lacking in
its earlier movements, and ere long the Christian Commission
added intellectual and religious aliment to its supplies for the
wants of the physical man.
Of the thousands of applicants for the position of Hospital
Nurses, the greater part were rejected promptly by the stern, but
experienced lady, to whom the Government had confided the
delicate and responsible duty of making the selection. The
ground of rejection was usually the youthfulness of the appli-
cants; a sufficient reason, doubtless, in most cases, since the en-
thusiasm, mingled in some instances, perhaps, with romance,
which had prompted the offer, would often falter before the ex-
tremely unpoetic realities of a nurse's duties, and the youth and
often frail health of the applicants would soon cause them to
give way under labors which required a mature strength, a firm
will, and skill in all household duties. Yet “to err is human,'
and it need not surprise us, as it probably did not Miss Dix, to
learn, that in a few instances, those whom she had refused to com-
mission on account of their youthfulness, proved in other fields,
their possession of the very highest qualifications for the care of
the sick and wounded. Miss Gilson was one of the most remark-
able of these instances; and it reflects no discredit on Miss Dix's
powers of discrimination, that she should not have discovered, in
that girlish face, the indications of those high abilities, of which
their possessor was as yet probably unconscious. The rejection
of so many of these volunteer nurses necessitated the appointment
of many from another class,-young women of culture and educa-
tion, but generally from the humbler walks of life, in whose hearts
the fire of patriotism was not less ardent and glowing than in
those of their wealthier sisters. Many of these, though they
would have preferred to perform their labors without fee or
reward, were compelled, from the necessities of those at home, to
accept the wholly inadequate pittance (twelve dollars a month

56
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
and their food) which was offered them by the Government, but
they served in their several stations with a fidelity, intelligence,
and patient devotion which no money could purchase. The tes-
timony received from all quarters to the faithfulness and great
moral worth of these nurses, is greatly to their honor. Not one
of them, so far as we can learn, ever disgraced her calling, or
gave cause for reproach. We fear that so general an encomium
could not truthfully be bestowed on all the volunteer nurses.
But nursing in the hospitals, was only a small part of the work
to which patriotism called American women. There was the
collection and forwarding to the field, there to be distributed by
the chaplains, or some specially appointed agent, of those supplies
which the families and friends of the soldiers so earnestly desired
to send to them; socks, shirts, handkerchiefs, havelocks, and
delicacies in the way of food. The various states had their agents,
generally ladies, in Washington, who performed these duties, du-
ring the first two years of the war, while as yet the Sanitary
Commission had not fully organized its system of Field Relief.
In the West, every considerable town furnished its quota of sup-
plies, and, after every battle, voluntary agents undertook their
distribution.
During McClellan's peninsular campaign, a Hospital Transport
service was organized in connection with the Sanitary Commission,
which numbered among its members several gentlemen and ladies
of high social position, whose labors in improvising, often from
the scantiest possible supplies, the means of comfort and healing
for the fever-stricken and wounded, resulted in the preservation
of hundreds of valuable lives.
Mrs. John Harris, the devoted and heroic Secretary of the
Ladies' Aid Society of Philadelphia, had already, in the Penin-
sular campaign, encountered all the discomforts and annoyances
of a life in the camp, to render what assistance she could to the
sick and wounded, while they were yet in the field or camp hos-
pital. At Cedai Mountain, and in the subsequent battles of

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
57
August, in Pope's Campaign, Miss Barton, Mrs. T. J. Fales, and
some others also brought supplies to the field, and ministered to
the wounded, while the shot and shell were crashing around
them, and Antietam had its representatives of the fair sex, angels
of mercy, but for whose tender and judicious ministrations, hun-
dreds and perhaps thousands would not have seen another morn-
ing's light. In the race for Richmond which followed, Miss
Barton's train was hospital and diet kitchen to the Ninth Corps,
and much of the time for the other Corps also. At Fredericks-
burg, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Plummer, Mrs. Fales, and
Miss Barton, and we believe also, Miss Gilson, were all actively
engaged. A part of the same noble company, though not all,
were at Chancellorsville.
At Gettysburg, Mrs. Harris was present and actively engaged,
and as soon as the battle ceased, a delegation of ladies connected
with the Sanitary Commission toiled most faithfully to alleviate
the horrors of war. In the subsequent battles of the Army of
the Potomac, the Field Relief Corps of the Sanitary Commission
with its numerous male and female collaborators, aftër, or at the
time of all the great battles, the ladies connected with the Chris-
tian Commission and a number of efficient independent workers,
did all in their power to relieve the constantly swelling tide of
human suffering, especially during that period of less than ninety
days, when more than ninety thousand men, wounded, dying, or
dead, covered the battle-fields with their gore.
In the West, after the battle of Shiloh, and the subsequent
engagements of Buell's campaign, women of the highest social
position visited the battle-field, and encountered its horrors, to
minister to those who were suffering, and bring them relief.
Among these, the names of Mrs. Martha A. Wallace, the widow
of General W. H. L. Wallace, who fell in the battle of Shiloh;
of Mrs. Harvey, the widow of Governor Louis Harvey of Wis-
consin, who was drowned while on a mission of philanthropy to
the W'sconsin soldiers wounded at Shiloh; and the sainted Mar-
8

58
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
garet E. Breckinridge of St. Louis, will be readily recalled
During Grant's Vicksburg campaign, as well as after Rosecrans
battles of Stone River and Chickamauga, there were many of
these heroic women who braved all discomforts and difficulties to
bring healing and comfort to the gallant soldiers who had fallen
on the field. Mrs. Hoge and Mrs. Livermore, of Chicago, visited
Grant's camp in front of Vicksburg, more than once, and by
their exertions, saved his army from scurvy; Mrs. Porter, Mrs.
Bickerdyke, and several others are deserving of mention for their
untiring zeal both in these and Sherman's Georgian campaigns.
Mrs. Bickerdyke has won undying renown throughout the
Western armies as pre-eminently the friend of the private soldier.
As our armies, especially in the West and Southwest, won
more and more of the enemy's territory, the important towns of
which were immediately occupied as garrisons, hospital posts.
and secondary bases of the armies, the work of nursing and pro-
viding special diet and comfort in the general hospitals at these
posts, which were often of great extent, involved a vast amount of
labor and frequently serious privation, and personal discomfort
on the part of the nurses. Some of these who volunteered for
the work were remarkable for their earnest and faithful labors in
behalf of the soldiers, under circumstances which would have dis-
heartened any but the most resolute spirits. We may name
without invidiousness among these, Mrs. Colfax, Miss Maertz,
Miss Melcenia Elliott, Miss Parsons, Miss Adams, and Miss
Brayton, who, with many others, perhaps equally faithful, by
their constant assiduity in their duties, have given proof of their
ardent love of their country.
To provide for the great numbers of men discharged from the
hospitals while yet feeble and ill, and without the means of going
to their often distant homes, and the hundreds of enfeebled and
mutilated soldiers, whose days of service were over, and who,
often in great bodily weakness, sought to obtain the pay due
them from the Government, and not unseldom died in the effort;

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
59
the United States Sanitary Commission and the Western Sani-
tary Commission established Soldiers' Homes at Washington,
Cincinnati, Chicago, Louisville, Nashville, St. Louis, Memphis,
Vicksburg, and other places. In these, these disabled men
found food and shelter, medical attendance when needed, assist-
ance in collecting their dues, and aid in their transportation
homeward. To each of these institutions, a Matron was assigned,
often with female assistants. The duties of these Matrons were
extremely arduous, but they were performed most nobly. To
some of these homes were attached a department for the mothers,
wives and daughters of the wounded soldiers, who had come on
to care for them, and who often found themselves, when ready to
return, penniless, and without a shelter. To these, a helping
hand, and a kind welcome, was ever extended.
To these should be added the Soldiers' Lodges, established at
some temporary stopping-places on the routes to and from the
great battle-fields; places where the soldier, fainting from his
wearisome march, found refreshment, and if sick, shelter and
care; and the wounded, on their distressing journey from the
battle-field to the distant hospitals, received the gentle ministra-
tions of women, to allay their thirst, relieve their painful posi-
tions, and strengthen their wearied bodies for further journeyings.
There were also, in New York, Boston, and many other of the
Northern cities, Soldiers' Homes or Depots, not generally con-
nected with the Sanitary Commission, in which invalid soldiers
were cared for and their interests protected. In all these there
were efficient and capable Matrons. In the West, there were
also Homes for Refugees, families of poor whites generally though
not always sufferers for their Union sentiments, sent north by the
military commanders from all the States involved in the rebel-
lion. Reduced to the lowest depths of poverty, often suffering
absolute starvation, usually dirty and of uncleanly habits, in
many cases ignorant in the extreme, and intensely indolent, these
poor creatures had often little to recommend them to the sym-

60
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
pathy of their northern friends, save their common humanity, and
their childlike attachment to the Union cause. Yet on these,
women of high culture and refinement, women who, but for the
fire of patriotism which burned in their hearts, would have turned
away, sickened at the mental and moral degradation which seemed
proof against all instruction or tenderness, bestowed their constant
and unwearying care, endeavoring to rouse in them the instinct
of neatness and the love of household duties; instructing their
children, and instilling into the darkened minds of the adults
some ideas of religious duty, and some gleams of intelligence.
No mission to the heathen of India, of Tartary, or of the African
coasts, could possibly have been more hopeless and discouraging;
but they triumphed over every obstacle, and in many instances
had the happiness of seeing these poor people restored to their
southern homes, with higher aims, hopes, and aspirations, and
with better habits, and more intelligence, than, they had ever
before possessed.
The camps and settlements of the freedmen were also the ob-
jects of philanthropic care. To these, many highly educated
women volunteered to go, and establishing schools, endeavored to
raise these former slaves to the comprehension of their privileges
and duties as free men. The work was arduous, for though there
was a stronger desire for learning, and a quicker apprehension of
religious and moral instruction, among the freedmen than among
the refugees, their slave life had made them fickle, untruthful, and
to some extent, dishonest and unchaste. Yet the faithful and
indefatigable teachers found their labors wonderfully successful,
and accomplished a great amount of good.
Another and somewhat unique manifestation of the patriotism
of our American women, was the service of the Refreshment
Saloons at Philadelphia. For four years, the women of that por-
tion of Philadelphia lying in the vicinity of the Navy Yard,
responded, by night or by day, to the signal gun, fired whenever
one or more regiments of soldiers were passing through the city,

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
61
and hastening to the Volunteer or the Cooper Shop Refreshment
Saloons, spread before the soldiers an ample repast, and served
them with a cordiality and heartiness deserving all praise. Four
hundred thousand soldiers were fed by these willing hands and
generous hearts, and in hospitals connected with both Refreshment
Saloons the sick were tenderly cared for.
In the large general hospitals of Washington, Philadelphia,
New York, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, in addition to the volun-
teer and paid nurses, there were committees of ladies, who, on
alternate days, or on single days of each week, were accustomed
to visit the hospitals, bringing delicacies and luxuries, preparing
special dishes for the invalid soldiers, writing to their friends for
them, etc. To this sacred duty, many women of high social
position devoted themselves steadily for nearly three years, alike
amid the summer's heat and the winter's cold, never failing of
visiting the patients, to whom their coming was the most joyous
event of the otherwise gloomy day.
But these varied forms of manifestation of patriotic zeal would
have been of but little material service to the soldiers, had there
not been behind them, throughout the loyal North, a vast net-
work of organizations extending to every village and hamlet, for
raising money and preparing and forwarding supplies of what-
ever was needful for the welfare of the sick and wounded. We
have already alluded to the spontaneity and universality of these
organizations at the beginning of the war. They were an out-
growth alike of the patriotism and the systematizing tendencies
of the people of the North. It might have been expected that
the zeal which led to their formation would soon have cooled,
and, perhaps, this would have been the case, but for two causes,
viz.: that they very early became parts of more comprehensive
organizations officered by women of untiring energy, and the
most exalted patriotic devotion; and that the events of the war
constantly kept alive the zeal of a few in each society, who
spurred on the laggards, and encouraged the faint-hearted. These

62
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Soldiers' Aid Societies, Ladies' Aid Associations, Alert Clubs,
Soldiers' Relief Societies, or by whatever other name they were
called, were usually auxiliary to some Society in the larger cities,
to which their several contributions of money and supplies were
sent, by which their activity and labors were directed, and which
generally forwarded to some central source of supply, their dona-
tions and its own. The United States Sanitary Commission had
its branches, known under various names, as Branch Commissions,
General Soldiers' Aid Societies, Associates, Local Sanitary Com-
missions, etc., at Boston, Albany, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Buffalo,
Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Chicago, and three central organiza-
tions, the Women's Central Association of Relief, in New York,
the Sanitary Commission, at Washington, and the Western Depot
of Supplies, at Louisville, Kentucky. Affiliated to these were
over twelve thousand local Soldiers' Aid Societies. The Western
Sanitary Commission had but one central organization, besides its
own depot, viz.: The Ladies' Union Aid Society, of St. Louis,
which had a very considerable number of auxiliaries in Missouri
and Iowa. The Christian Commission had its branches in Bos-
ton, New York, Brooklyn, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Chi-
cago, and St. Louis, and several thousand local organizations
reported to these. Aside from these larger bodies, there were the
Ladies' Aid Association of Philadelphia, with numerous auxil-
iaries in Pennsylvania, the Baltimore Ladies' Relief Association,
the New England Soldiers' Relief Association of New York;
and during the first two years of the war, Sanitary Commissions
in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois, and State Relief Societies in Wis
consin, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and some of the other States
with their representative organizations in Washington. Several
Central Aid Societies having large numbers of auxiliaries, acted
independently for the first two years, but were eventually merged
in the Sanitary Commission. Prominent among these were the
Hartford Ladies' Aid Society, having numerous auxiliaries
throughout Connecticut, the Pittsburg Relief Committee, draw-

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
63
ing its supplies from the circumjacent country, and we believe,
also, the Penn Relief Society, an organization among the Friends
of Philadelphia and vicinity. The supplies for the Volunteer
and Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloons of Philadelphia, were
contributed by the citize is of that city and vicinity.
When it is remembered, that by these various organizations, a
sum exceeding fifty millions of dollars was raised, during a little
more than four years, for the comfort and welfare of the soldiers,
their families, their widows, and their orphans, we may be certain
that there was a vast amount of work done by them. Of this
aggregate of labor, it is difficult to form any adequate idea. The
ladies who were at the head of the Branch or Central organiza-
tions, worked day after day, during the long and hot days of
summer, and the brief but cold ones of winter, as assiduously
and steadily, as any merchant in his counting-house, or the
banker at his desk, and exhibited business abilities, order, fore-
sight, judgment, and tact, such as are possessed by very few of
the most eminent men of business in the country. The extent
of their operations, too, was in several instances commensurate
with that of some of our merchant princes. Miss Louisa Lee
Schuyler and Miss Ellen Collins, of the Women's Central Asso-
ciation of Relief at New York, received and disbursed in sup-
plies and money, several millions of dollars in value; Mrs.
Rouse, Miss Mary Clark Brayton, and Miss Ellen F. Terry, of
the Cleveland Soldiers' Aid Society, somewhat more than a mil-
lion; Miss Abby May, of Boston, not far from the same amount;
Mrs. Hoge, and Mrs. Livermore, of the N. W. Sanitary Com-
mission, over a million; while Mrs. Seymour, of Buffalo, Miss
Valeria Campbell, of Detroit, Mrs. Colt, of Milwaukie, Miss
Rachel W. McFadden, of Pittsburg, Mrs. Hoadley, and Mrs.
Mendenhall, of Cincinnati, Mrs. Clapp, and Miss H. A. Adams,
of the St. Louis Ladies' Aid Society, Mrs. Joel Jones, and Mrs.
John Harris, of the Philadelphia Ladies' Aid Society, Mrs.
Stranahan, and Mrs. Archer, of Brooklyn, if they did not do

64
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
quite so large a business, at least rivaled the merchants of the
smaller cities, in the extent of their disbursements; and when it
is considered, that these ladies were not only the managers and
financiers of their transactions, but in most cases the book-
keepers also, we think their right to be regarded as possessing
superior business qualifications will not be questioned.
But some of these lady managers possessed still other claims
to our respect, for their laborious and self-sacrificing patriotism.
It occurred to several ladies in different sections of the country,
as they ascertained the suffering condition of some of the fami-
lies of the soldiers, (the early volunteers, it will be remembered,
received no bounties, or very trifling ones), that if they could
secure for them, at remunerative prices, the making of the sol-
diers' uniforms, or of the hospital bedding and clothing, they
might thus render them independent of charity, and capable of
self-support.
Three ladies (and perhaps more), Mrs. Springer, of St. Louis,
in behalf of the Ladies' Aid Society of that city, Miss Katherine
P. Wormeley, of Newport, R. I., and Miss Helen L. Gilson, of
Chelsea, Mass., applied to the Governmental purveyors of clothing,
for the purpose of obtaining this work. There was necessarily
considerable difficulty in accomplishing their purpose.
of contractors opposed them strongly, and in the end, these ladies
were each obliged to take a contract of large amount themselves,
in order to be able to furnish the work to the wives and daughters
of the soldiers. In St. Louis, the terms of the contract were
somewhat more favorable than at the East, and on the expiration
of one, another was taken up, and about four hundred women
were supplied with remunerative work throughout the whole period
of the war. The terms of the contract necessitated the careful in-
spection of the clothing, and the certainty of its being well made,
by the lady contractors; but in point of fact, it was all cut and
prepared for the sewing-women by Mrs. Springer and her asso-
riates, who, giving their services to this work, divided among
The army

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
65
their employés the entire sum received for each contract, paying
them weekly for their work. The strong competition at the Fast,
rendered the price paid for the work, for which contracts were
taken by Miss Wormeley and Miss Gilson, less than at the West,
but Miss Gilson, and, we believe, Miss Wormeley also, raised an
additional sum, and paid to the sewing-women more than the
contract price for the work. It required a spirit thoroughly
imbued with patriotism and philanthropy to carry on this work,
for the drudgery connected with it was a severe tax upon the
strength of those who undertook it. In the St. Louis contracts,
the officers and managers of the Ladies' Aid Society, rendered as-
sistance to Mrs. Springer, who had the matter in charge, so far as
they could, but not satisfied with this, one of their number, the
late Mrs. Palmer, spent a portion of every day in visiting the
soldiers' families who were thus employed, and whenever addi-
tional aid was needed, it was cheerfully and promptly bestowed.
In this noble work of Christian charity, Mrs. Palmer overtasked
her physical powers, and after a long illness, she passed from
earth, to be reckoned among that list of noble martyrs, who sacri-
ficed life for the cause of their country.
But it was not the managers and leaders of these central asso-
ciations alone whose untiring exertions, and patient fidelity to
their patriotic work should excite our admiration and reverence.
Though moving in a smaller circle, and dealing with details
rather than aggregates, there were, in almost every village and
town, those whose zeal, energy, and devotion to their patriotic
work, was as worthy of record, and as heroic in character, as the
labors of their sisters in the cities. We cannot record the names
of those thousands of noble women, but their record is on high,
and in the grand assize, their zealous toil to relieve their suffering
brothers, who were fighting or had fought the nation's battles,
will be recognized by Him, who regards every such act of love
and philanthropy as done to Himself.
Nor are these, alone, among those whose deeds of love and
9

66
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
patriotism are inscribed in the heavenly record. The whole his-
tory of the contributions for relief, is glorified by its abundant in-
stances of self-sacrifice. The rich gave, often, largely and nobly
from their wealth; but a full moiety of the fifty millions of volun-
tary gifts, came from the hard earnings, or patient labors of the
poor, often bestowed at the cost of painful privation. Incidents
like the following were of every-day occurrence, during the later
years of the war: “In one of the mountainous countries at the
North, in a scattered farming district, lived a mother and daughters,
too poor to obtain by purchase, the material for making hospital
clothing, yet resolved to do something for the soldier. Twelve
miles distant, over the mountain, and accessible only by a road
almost impassable, was the county-town, in which there was a
Relief Association. Borrowing a neighbor's horse, either the
mother or daughters came regularly every fortnight, to procure
from this society, garments to make up for the hospital. They
had no money; but though the care of their few acres of sterile
land devolved upon themselves alone, they could and would find
time to work for the sufferers in the hospitals. At length, curious
to know the secret of such fervor in the cause, one of the managers
of the association addressed them: “You have some relative, a son,
or brother, or father, in the war, I suppose ?” “No!” was the
reply, “not now; our only brother fell at Ball's Bluff.” “Why
then," asked the manager,“ do you feel so
feel so deep an interest in this
work?” “Our country's cause is the cause of God, and we would
do what we can, for His sake," was the sublime reply.
Take another example. “In that little hamlet on the bleak
and barren hills of New England, far away from the great city or
even the populous village, you will find a mother and daughter
living in a humble dwelling. The husband and father has lain
for many years 'neath the sod in the graveyard on the hill slope;
the only son, the hope and joy of both mother and sister, at the
call of duty, gave himself to the service of his country, and left
those whom he loved as his own life, to toil at home alone. By

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
67
and bye, at Williamsburg, or Fair Oaks, or in that terrible re-
treat to James River, or at Cedar Mountain, it matters not which,
the swift speeding bullet laid him low, and after days, or it may
be weeks of terrible suffering, he gave up his young life on the
altar of his country. The shock was a terrible one to those lone
dwellers on the snowy hills. He was their all, but it was for the
cause of Freedom, of Right, of God; and hushing the wild beating
of their hearts they bestir themselves, in their deer poverty, to
do something for the cause for which their young hero had given
his life. It is but little, for they are sorely straitened; but the
mother, though her heart is wrapped in the darkness of sorrow,
saves the expense of mourning apparel, and the daughter turns
her faded dress; the little earnings of both are carefully hoarded,
the pretty chintz curtains which had made their humble room
cheerful, are replaced by paper, and by dint of constant saving,
enough money is raised to purchase the other materials for a hos-
pital quilt, a pair of socks, and a shirt, to be sent to the Relief
Association, to give comfort to some poor wounded soldier, tossing
in agony in some distant hospital. And this, with but slight
variation is the history of hundreds, and perhaps thousands of
the articles sent to the soldiers' aid societies.
This fire of patriotic zeal, while it glowed alike in the hearts of
the rich and poor, inflamed the young as well as the old. Little
girls, who had not attained their tenth year, or who had just
passed it, denied themselves the luxuries and toys they had long
desired, and toiled with a patience and perseverance wholly foreign
to childish nature, to procure or make something of value for their
country's defenders. On a pair of socks sent to the Central Asso-
ciation of Relief, was pinned a paper with this legend: “These
stockings were knit by a little girl five years old, and she is going
to knit some more, for mother said it will help some poor soldier."
The official reports of the Women's Soldiers' Aid Society of
Northern Ohio, the Cleveland branch of the Sanitary Commis-
sion, furnish the following incident: “Every Saturday morniug

68
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
finds Emma Andrews, ten years of age, at the roonis of the Aid
Society with an application for work. Her little basket is soon
filled with pieces of half-worn linen, which, during the week, she
cuts into towels or handkerchiefs; hems, and returns, neatly
washed and ironed, at her next visit. Her busy fingers have
already made two hundred and twenty-nine towels, and the patri-
otic little girl is still earnestly engaged in her work.” Holidays
and half holidays in the country were devoted by the little ones
with great zeal, to the gathering of blackberries and grapes, for the
preparations of cordials and native wines for the hospitals, and the
picking, paring and drying peaches and apples, which, in their
abundance, proved a valuable safeguard against scurvy, which
threatened the destruction or serious weakening of our armies,
more than once. In the cities and large villages the children,
with generous self-denial, gave the money usually expended for
fireworks to purchase onions and pickles for the soldiers, to pre-
vent scurvy. A hundred thousand dollars, it is said, was thus
consecrated, by these little ones, to this benevolent work.
In the days of the Sanitary Fairs, hundreds of groups of little
girls held their miniature fairs, stocked for the most part with
articles of their own production, upon the door step, or the walk
in front of their parents' dwellings, or in the wood-shed, or in
some vacant room, and the sums realized from their sales, vary-
ing from five to one hundred dollars, were paid over, without
any deduction for expenses, since labor and attendance were volun-
tary and the materials a gift, to the treasuries of the great fairg
then in progress.
Nor were the aged women lacking in patriotic devotion. Such
inscriptions as these were not uncommon. " The fortunate owner
of these socks is secretly informed, that they are the one hundred
and ninety-first pair knit for our brave boys by Mrs. Abner Bart-
lett, of Medford, Mass., now aged eighty-five years.”
A barrel of hospital clothing sent from Conway, Mass., con-
tained a pair of socks knit by a lady ninety-seven years old, whic

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
69
declared herself ready and anxious to do all she could. A home-
spun blanket bore the inscription, “This blanket was carried by
Milly Aldrich, who is ninety-three years old, down hill and up
hill, one and a half miles, to be given to some soldier.”
A box of lint bore this touching record, “Made in a sick-room
where the sunlight has not entered for nine years, but where God
has entered, and where two sons have bade their mother good-
bye, as they have gone out to the war.”
Every one knows the preciousness of the household linen which
has been for generations an heirloom in a family. Yet in nume-
rous instances, linen sheets, table-cloths, and napkins, from one
hundred and twenty to two hundred years old, which no money
could have purchased, were dedicated, often by those who had
nought else to give, to the service of the hospital.
An instance of generous and self-denying patriotism related by
Mrs. D. P. Livermore, of the Northwestern Sanitary Commission,
deserves a record in this connection, as it was one which has had
more than one counterpart elsewhere, “Some two or three
months
ago, a poor girl, a seamstress, came to our rooms. I do
not feel right,' she said, “that I am doing nothing for our soldiers
in the hospitals, and have resolved to do something immediately.
Which do you prefer—that I should give money, or buy material
and manufacture it into garments ?!”
“You must be guided by your circumstances,” was the answer
made her; “we need both money and supplies, and you must do
that which is most convenient for you.”
“I prefer to give you money, if it will do as much good.”
“Very well; then give money, which we need badly, and
without which we cannot do what is most necessary for our brave
sick men.”
“Then I will give you the entire earnings of the next two
weeks. I'd give more, but I have to help support my mother
who is an invalid. Generally I make but one vest a day, but I
will work earlier and later these two weeks.” In two weeks she

70
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
came again, the poor sewing girl, her face radiant with the con-
sciousness of philanthropic intent. Opening her porte-monnaie,
she counted out nineteen dollars and thirty-seven cents. Every
penny was earned by the slow needle, and she had stitched away
into the hours of midnight on every one of the working days of
the week. The patriotism which leads to such sacrifices as
these, is not less deserving of honor than that which finds scope
for its energies in ministering to the wounded on the battle-field
or in the crowded wards of a hospital.
Two other offerings inspired by the true spirit of earnest and
active philanthropy, related by the same lady, deserve a place
here.
“Some farmers' wives in the north of Wisconsin, eighteen miles
from a railroad, had given to the Commission of their bed and
table linen, their husbands' shirts and drawers, their scanty
supply of dried and canned fruits, till they had exhausted their
ability to do more in this direction. Still they were not satisfied.
So they cast about to see what could be done in another
way.
They were all the wives of small farmers, lately moved to the
West, all living in log cabins, where one room sufficed for
kitchen, parlor, laundry, nursery and bed-room, doing their own
house-work, sewing, baby-tending, dairy-work, and all. What
could they do?
“They were not long in devising a way to gratify the longings
of their motherly and patriotic hearts, and instantly set about
carrying it into action. They resolved to beg wheat of the
neighboring farmers, and convert it into money. Sometimes on
foot, and sometimes with a team, amid the snows and mud of
early spring, they canvassed the country for twenty and twenty-
five miles around, everywhere eloquently pleading the needs of
the blue-coated soldier boys in the hospitals, the eloquence every-
where acting as an open sesame to the granaries. Now they
obtained a little from a rich man, and then a great deal from a
poor man-deeds of benevolence are half the time in an inverse

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
71
ratio to the ability of the benefactors—till they had accumulated
nearly five hundred bushels of wheat. This they sent to market,
obtained the highest market price for it, and forwarded the pro-
ceeds to the Commission. As we held this hard-earned money
in our hands, we felt that it was consecrated, that the holy pur-
pose and resolution of these noble women had imparted a sacred-
ness to it."
Very beautiful is the following incident, narrated by the same
lady, of a little girl, one of thousands of the little ones, who
have, during the war, given up precious and valued keepsakes to
aid in ministering to the sick and wounded soldiers. “A little
girl not nine years old, with sweet and timid grace, came into the
rooms of the Commission, and laying a five dollar gold-piece on
our desk, half frightened, told us its history. 'My uncle gave
me that before the war, and I was going to keep it always; but
he's got killed in the army, and mother says now I may give it
to the soldiers if I want to and I'd like to do so.
pose it will buy much for them, will it?' ” We led the child to
the store-room, and proceeded to show her how valuable her gift
was, by pointing out what it would buy—so many cans of con-
densed milk, or so many bottles of ale, or pounds of tea, or cod-
fish, etc. Her face brightened with pleasure. But when we
explained to her that her five dollar gold-piece was equal to seven
dollars and a half in greenbacks, and told her how much comfort
we had been enabled to carry into a hospital, with as small an
amount of stores as that sum would purchase, she fairly danced
I don't sup-
with joy.
“Oh, it will do lots of good, won't it?" And folding her
hands before her, she begged, in her charmingly modest way,
“Please tell me something that you've seen in the hospitals ?”
A narrative of a few touching events, not such as wouid too
severely shock the little creature, but which plainly showed the
necessity of continued benevolence to the hospitals, filled her
swert eyes with tears, and drew from her the resolution, "to save

72
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
all her money, and to get all the girls to do so, to buy things for
the wounded soldiers.”
Innumerable have been the methods by which the loyalty and
patriotism of our countrywomen have manifested themselves; no
memorial can ever record the thousandth part of their labors,
their toils, or their sacrifices; sacrifices which, in so many in-
stances, comprehended the life of the earnest and faithful worker.
A grateful nation and a still more grateful army will ever hold
in remembrance, such martyrs as Margaret Breckinridge, Anna
M. Ross, Arabella Griffith Barlow, Mrs. Howland, Mrs. Plum-
mer, Mrs. Mary E. Palmer, Mrs. S. C. Pomeroy, Mrs. C. M.
Kirkland, Mrs. David Dudley Field, and Sweet Jenny Wade, of
Gettysburg, as well as many others, who, though less widely
known, laid down their lives as truly for the cause of their
country; and their names should be inscribed upon the ever
during granite, for they were indeed the most heroic spirits of the
war, and to them, belong its unfading laurels and its golden crowns.
And yet, we are sometimes inclined to hesitate in our esti-
mate of the comparative magnitude of the sacrifices laid upon
the Nation's altar; not in regard to these, for she who gave
her life, as well as her services, to the Nation's cause, gave all
she had to give; but in reference to the others, who, though
serving the cause faithfully in their various ways, yet returned
unscathed to their homes. Great and noble as were the sacrifices
made by these women, and fitted as they were to call forth our
admiration, were they after all, equal to those of the mothers,
sisters, and daughters, who, though not without tears, yet calmly,
and with hearts burning with the fire of patriotism, willingly,
gave up their best beloved to fight for the cause of their country
and their God? A sister might give up an only brother, the
playmate of her childhood, her pride, and her hope; a daughter
might bid adieu to a father dearly beloved, whose care and gui-
dance she still needs and will continue to need. A mother might,
perchance, relinquish her only son, he on whom she had hoped

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
73
the war.
to lean, as the strong staff and the beautiful rod of her old
age;
all this might be, with sorrow indeed, and a deep and abiding
sense of loneliness, not to be relieved, except by the return of
that father, brother, or son. But the wife, who, fully worthy of
that holy name, gave the parting hand to a husband who was
dearer, infinitely dearer to her than father, son, or brother, and
saw him go forth to the battle-field, where severe wounds or
sudden and terrible death, were almost certainly to be his
portion, sacrificed in that one act all but life, for she relinquished
all that made life blissful. Yet even in this holocaust there were
degrees, gradations of sacrifice. The wife of the officer might,
perchance, have occasion to see how her husband was honored
and advanced for his bravery and good conduct, and while he
was spared, she was not likely to suffer the pangs of poverty.
In these particulars, how much more sad was the condition of
the wife of the private soldier, especially in the earlier years of
To her, except the letters often long delayed or cap-
tured on their route, there were no tidings of her husband, ex-
cept in the lists of the wounded or the slain; and her home, often
one of refinement and taste, was not only saddened by the absence
of him who was its chief joy, but often stripped of its best be-
longings, to help out the scanty pittance which rewarded her own
severe toil, in furnishing food and clothing for herself and her
little ones. Cruel, grinding poverty, was too often the portion
of these poor women. At the West, women tenderly and care-
fully reared, were compelled to undertake the rude labors of the
field, to provide bread for their families. And when, to so many
of these poor women who had thus struggled with poverty, and
the depressing influences of loneliness and weariness, there came
the sad intelligence, that the husband so dearly loved, was among
the slain, or that he had been captured and consigned to death by
starvation and slow torture at Andersonville, where even now he
might be filling an unknown grave, what wonder is it that in
pumerous cases the burden was too heavy for the wearied spirit,
10

74
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
and insanity supervened, or the broken heart found rest and le-
union with the loved and lost in the grave.
Yet in many instances, the heart that seemed nigh to break-
ing, found solace in its sorrow, in ministering directly or indi-
rectly to the wounded soldier, and forgetting its own misery,
brought to other hearts and homes consolation and peace. This
seems to us the loftiest and most divine of all the manifestations
of the heroic spirit; it is nearest akin in its character to the con-
duct of Him, who while “he was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief,” yet found the opportunity, with his infinite tender-
ness and compassion, to assuage every sorrow and soothe every
grief but his own.
The effect of this patriotic zeal and fervor on the part of the
wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the loyal North, in
stimulating and encouraging the soldiers to heroic deeds, was
remarkable. Napoleon sought to awaken the enthusiasm and
love of fame of his troops in Egypt, by that spirit-stirring word,
“Soldiers, from the height of yonder pyramids forty centuries look
down upon you.” But to the soldier fighting the battles of free-
dom, the thought that in every hamlet and village of the loyal
North, patriotic women were toiling and watching for his welfare,
and that they were ready to cheer and encourage him in the
darkest hour, to medicine his wounds, and minister to his sickness
and sorrows in the camp, on the battle-field, or in the hospital
wards, was a far more grateful and inspiring sentiment, than the
mythical watch and ward of the spectral hosts of a hundred cen-
turies of the dead past.
The loyal soldier felt that he was fighting, so to speak, under
the very eyes of his countrywomen, and he was prompted to
higher deeds of daring and valor by the thought. In the smoke
and flame of battle, he bore, or followed the flag, made and con-
secrated by female hands to his country's service; many of the
articles which contributed to his comfort, and strengthened his
good right arm, and inspirited his heart for the day of battle

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
75
were the products of the toil and the gifts of his countrywomen;
and he knew right well, that if he should fall in the fierce con-
Alict, the gentle ministrations of woman would be called in requi-
sition, to bind up his wounds, to cool his fevered brow, to
minister to his fickle or failing appetite, to soothe his sorrows,
to communicate with his friends, and if death came to close his
eyes, and comfort, so far as might be those who had loved him.
This knowledge strengthened him in the conflict, and enabled
him to strike more boldly and vigorously for freedom, until the
time came when the foe, dispirited and exhausted, yielded up his
last vantage ground, and the war was over.
The Rebel soldiers were not thus sustained by home influences.
At first, indeed, Aid Societies were formed all over the South,
and supplies forwarded to their armies; but in the course of a
year, the zeal of the Southern ladies cooled, and they contented
themselves with waving their handkerchiefs to the soldiers, instead
of providing for their wants; and thenceforward, to the end of
the war, though there were no rebels so bitter and hearty in their
expressions of hostility to the North, as the great mass of Southern
women, it was a matter of constant complaint in the Rebel armies,
that their women did nothing for their comfort. The complaint
was doubtless exaggerated, for in their hospitals there were some
women of high station who did minister to the wounded, but
after the first year, the gifts and sacrifices of Southern women to
their army and hospitals, were not the hundredth, hardly the
thousandth part of those of the women of the North to their
countrymen.
A still more remarkable result of this wide-spread movement
among the women of the North, was its effect
upon
the them-
selves. Fifty years of peace had made us, if not "a nation of
shop-keepers,” at least a people given to value too highly, the
pomp and show of material wealth, and our women were as a
class, the younger women especially, devoting to frivolous pur-
suits, society, gaiety and display, the gifts wherewith God had
sex

76
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
endowed them most bountifully. The war, and the benevolence
and patriotism which it evoked, changed all this. The gay
and
thoughtless belle, the accomplished and beautiful leader of society,
awoke at once to a new life. The soul of whose existence she
had been almost as unconscious as Fouqué's Undine, began to
assert its powers, and the gay and fashionable woman, no longer
ennuyéd by the emptiness and frivolity of life, found her thoughts
and hands alike fully occupied, and rose into a sphere of life and
action, of which, a month before, she would have considered her-
self incapable.
Saratoga and Newport, and the other haunts of fashion were
not indeed deserted, but the visitors there were mostly new faces,
the wives and daughters of those who had grown rich through
the contracts and vicissitudes of the war, while their old habitués
were toiling amid the summer's heat to provide supplies for the
hospitals, superintending sanitary fairs, or watching and aiding
the sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals, or at the front of
the army. In these labors of love, many a fair face grew pale,
many a light dancing step became slow and feeble, and ever and
anon the light went out of eyes, that but a little while before had
flashed and glowed in conscious beauty and pride. But though
the cheeks might grow pale, the step feeble, and the eyes dim,
there was a holier and more transcendent beauty about them than
in their gayest hours. “We looked daily,” says one who was
herself a participant in this blessed work, in speaking of one who,
after years of self-sacrificing devotion, at last laid down her
young
life in patriotic toil, “we looked daily to see the halo surround
her head, for it seemed as if God would not suffer so pure and
saintly a soul to walk the earth without a visible manifestation
of his love for her.” Work so ennobling, not only elevated and
etherealized the mind and soul, but it glorified the body, and
many times it shed a glory and beauty over the plainest faces,
somewhat akin to that which transfigured the Jewish lawgiver,
when he came down from the Mount. But it has done more

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
77
than this. The soul once ennobled by participation in a great
and glorious work, can never again be satisfied to come down to
the heartlessness, the frivolities, the petty jealousies, and little-
nesses of a life of fashion. Its aspirations and sympathies lie
otherwheres, and it must seek in some sphere of humanitarian
activity or Christian usefulness, for work that will gratify its
longings.
How pitiful and mean must the brightest of earth's gay assem-
blages appear, to her who, day after day, has held converse with
the souls of the departing, as they plumed their wings for the
flight heavenward, and accompanying them in their upward
journey so far as mortals may, has been privileged with some
glimpse through the opening gates of pearl, into the golden
streets of the city of our God!
With such experiences, and a discipline so purifying and en-
nobling, we can but anticipate a still higher and holier future, for
the women of our time. To them, we must look for the advance-
ment of all noble and philanthropic enterprises; the lifting vagrant
and wayward childhood from the paths of ruin; the universal dif-
fusion of education and culture; the succor and elevation of the
poor, the weak, and the down-trodden; the rescue and reformation
of the fallen sisterhood; the improvement of hospitals and the care
of the sick; the reclamation of prisoners, especially in female
prisons; and in general, the genial ministrations of refined and
cultured womanhood, wherever these ministrations can bring
calmness, peace and comfort. Wherever there is sorrow, suffering,
or sin, in our own or in other lands, these heaven-appointed
Sisters of Charity will find their mission and their work.
Glorious indeed will be the results of such labors of love and
Christian charity. Society will be purified and elevated; giant
evils which have so long thwarted human progress, overthrown.
the strongholds of sin, captured and destroyed by the might of
truth, and the “new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness," so

78
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
long foretold by patriarch, prophet, and apostle, become a welcome
and enduring reality.
And they who have wrought this good work, as, one after
another, they lay down the garments of their earthly toil to assume
the glistening robes of the angels, shall find, as did Enoch of old,
that those who walk with God, shall be spared the agonies of
death and translated peacefully and joyfully to the mansions of
their heavenly home, while waiting choirs of the blessed ones
shall hail their advent to the transcendent glories of the world
above.

SUPERINTENDENT OF NURSES.


DOROTHEA L. DIX.
On
MONG all the women who devoted themselves with
untiring energy, and gave talents of the highest order
to the work of caring for our soldiers during the war,
the name of Dorothea L. Dix will always take the first
rank, and history will undoubtedly preserve it long after all
others have sunk into oblivion. This her extraordinary and ex-
ceptional official position will secure. Others have doubtless
done as excellent a work, and earned a praise equal to her own,
but hei relations to the government will insure her historical
mention and remembrance, while none will doubt the sincerity of
her patriotism, or the faithfulness of her devotion.
Dorothea L. Dix is a native of Worcester, Mass. Her father
was a physician, who died while she was as yet young, leaving
her almost without pecuniary resources.
Soon after this event, she proceeded to Boston, where she
opened a select school for young ladies, from the income of which
she was enabled to draw a comfortable support.
One day during her residence in Boston, while passing along a
street, she accidentally overheard two gentlemen, who were walking
before her, conversing about the state prison at Charlestown, and
expressing their sorrow at the neglected condition of the convicts.
They were undoubtedly of that class of philanthropists who believe
that no man, however vile, is all bad, but, though sunk into the
lowest depths of vice, has yet in his soul some white spot which
11
81

82
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
may touch.
the taint has not reached, but which some kind hand may reach,
and some kind heart
Be that as it may, their remarks found an answering chord in
the heart of Miss Dix. She was powerfully affected and im-
pressed, so much so, that she obtained no rest until she had her-
self visited the prison, and learned that in what she had heard
there was no exaggeration. She found great suffering, and great
need of reform.
Energetic of character, and kindly of heart, she at once lent
herself to the work of elevating and instructing the degraded and
suffering classes she found there, and becoming deeply interested
in the welfare of these unfortunates, she continued to employ her-
self in labors pertaining to this field of reform, until the year
1834.
At that time her health becoming greatly impaired, she gave
up her school and embarked for Europe. Shortly before this
period, she had inherited from a relative sufficient property to
render her independent of daily exertion for support, and to
enable her to carry out any plans of charitable work which she
should form. Like all persons firmly fixed in an idea which
commends itself alike to the judgment and the impulses, she was
very tenacious of her opinions relating to it, and impatient of
opposition. It is said that from this cause she did not always
meet the respect and attention which the important objects to
which she was devoting her life would seem to merit. That she
found friends and helpers however at home and abroad, is un-
doubtedly true
She remained abroad until the year 1837, wiien returning to
her native country she devoted herself to the investigation of the
condition of paupers, lunaties and prisoners. In this work she
was warmly aided and encouraged by her friend and pastor the
Rev. Dr. Channing, of whose children she had been governess,
as well as by many other persons whose hearts beat a chord
responsive to that long since awakened in her own.

DOROTHEA L. DIX.
83
Since 1841 until the breaking out of the late war, Miss Dix
vlevoted herself to the great work which she accepted as the spe-
cial mission of her life. In pursuance of it, she, during that
time, is said to have visited every State of the Union east of the
Rocky Mountains, examining prisons, poor-houses, lunatic asy-
lums, and endeavoring to persuade legislatures and influential
individuals to take measures for the relief of the poor and
wretched.
Her exertions contributed greatly to the foundation of State
lunatic asylums in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York,
Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana and North Carolina. She presented
a memorial to Congress during the Session of 1848–9, asking an
appropriation of five hundred thousand acres of the public lands
to endow hospitals for the indigent insane.
This measure failed, but, not discouraged, she renewed the
appeal in 1850 asking for ten millions of acres. The Committee
of the House to whom the memorial was referred, made a favor-
able report, and a bill such as she asked for passed the House,
but failed in the Senate for want of time. In April, 1854, how-
ever, her unwearied exertions were rewarded by the passage of a
bill by both houses, appropriating ten millions of acres to the
several States for the relief of the indigent insane. But this bill
was vetoed by President Pierce, chiefly on the ground that the
General Government had no constitutional power to make such
appropriations.
Miss Dix was thus unexpectedly checked and deeply disap-
pointed in the immediate accomplishment of this branch of the
great work of benevolence to which she had more particularly
devoted herself.
From that time she seems to have given herself, with added
zeal, to her labors for the insane. This class so helpless, and so
innocently suffering, seem to have always been, and more parti-
cularly during the later years of her work, peculiarly the object
of her sympathies and labors. In the prosecution of these labors

84
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
she made another voyage to Europe in 1858 or '59, and continued
to pursue them with indefatigable zeal and devotion.
The labors of Miss Dix for the insane were continued without
intermission until the occurrence of those startling events which
at once turned into other and new channels nearly all the indus-
tries and philanthropies of our nation. With many a premonition,
and many a muttering of the coming storm, unheeded, our people,
iuured to peace, continued unappalled in their quiet pursuits.
But while the actual commencement of active hostilities called
thousands of men to arms, from the monotony of mechanical,
agricultural and commercial pursuits and the professions, it
changed as well the thoughts and avocations of those who were
not to enter the ranks of the military.
And not to men alone did these changes come. Not they alone
were filled with a new fire of patriotism, and a quickened devo-
tion to the interests of our nation. Scarcely had the ear ceased
thrilling with the tidings that our country was indeed the theatre
of civil war, when women as well as men began to inquire if there
were not for them some part to be played in this great drama.
Almost, if not quite the first among these was Miss Dix. Self-
reliant, accustomed to rapid and independent action, conscious of
her ability for usefulness, with her to resolve was to act. Scarcely
had the first regiments gone forward to the defense of our menaced
capital, when she followed, full of a patriotic desire to offer to her
country whatever service a woman could perform in this hour of
its need, and determined that it should be given.
She passed through Baltimore shortly after that fair city had
covered itself with the indelible disgrace of the 16th of April,
1861, and on her arrival at Washington, the first labor she offered
on her country's altar, was the nursing of some wounded soldiers,
victims of the Baltimore mob. Thus was she earliest in the
field.
Washington became a great camp. Every one was willing,
nay anxious, to be useful and employed. Military hospitals were

DOROTHEA L. DIX.
85
hastily organized. There were many sick, but few skilful nurses.
The opening of the rebellion had not found the government, nor
the loyal people prepared for it. All was confusion, want of dis-
cipline, and disorder. Organizing minds, persons of executive
ability, leader's, were wanted.
The services of women could be made available in the hospitals.
They were needed as nurses, but it was equally necessary that some
one should decide upon their qualifications for the task, and direct
their efforts.
Miss Dix was present in Washington. Her ability, long expe-
rience in public institutions and high character were well known.
Scores of persons of influence, from all parts of the country, could
vouch for her, and she had already offered her services to the
authorities for
any work in which they could be made available.
Her selection for the important post of Superintendent of
Female Nurses, by Secretary Cameron, then at the head of the
War Department, on the 10th of June, 1861, commanded univer-
sal approbation.
This at once opened for her a wide and most important field of
duty and labor. Except hospital matrons,* all women regularly
employed in the hospitals, and entitled to pay from the Govern-
ment, were appointed by her. An examination of the qualifica-
tions of each applicant was made. A woman must be mature in
years, plain almost to homeliness in dress, and by no means libe-
rally endowed with personal attractions, if she hoped to meet the
approval of Miss Dix. Good health and an unexceptionable moral
character were always insisted on. As the war progressed, the
applications were numerous, and the need of this kind of service
great, but the rigid scrutiny first adopted by Miss Dix continued,
and many were rejected who did not in all respects possess the
qualifications which she had fixed as her standard. Some of
these women, who in other branches of the service, and under
* In many instances she appointed these also.

86
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
other au: pices, became eminently useful, were rejected on account
of their youth; while some, alas! were received, who afterwards
proved themselves quite unfit for the position, and a disgrace to
their sex
But in these matters no blame can attach to Miss Dix. In the
first instance she acted no doubt from the dictates of a sound and
mature judgment; and in the last was often deceived by false tes-
timonials, by a specious appearance, or by applicants who, inno-
cent at the time, were not proof against the temptations and
allurements of a position which all must admit to be peculiarly
exposed and unsafe.
Besides the appointment of nurses the position of Miss Dix
imposed upon her numerous and onerous duties. She visited
hospitals, far and near, inquiring into the wants of their occu-
pants, in all cases where possible, supplementing the Government
stores by those with which she was always supplied by private
benevolence, or from public sources; she adjusted disputes, and
settled difficulties in which her nurses were concerned; and in
every way showed her true and untiring devotion to her country,
and its suffering defenders. She undertook long journeys by
land and by water, and seemed ubiquitous, for she was seldom
missed from her office in Washington, yet was often seen else-
where, and always bent upon the same fixed and earnest purpose.
We cannot, perhaps, better describe the personal appearance of
Miss Dix, and give an idea of her varied duties and many sacri-
fices, than by transcribing the following extract from the printed
correspondence of a lady, herself an active and most efficient
laborer in the same general field of effort, and holding an import-
ant position in the Northwestern Sanitary Commission.
“It was Sunday morning® when we arrived in Washington,
and as the Sanitary Commission held no meeting that day, we
decided after breakfast to pay a visit to Miss Dix.
“We fortunately found the good lady at home, but just ready
to start for the hospitals. She is slight and delicate looking, and

DOROTHEA L. DIX.
87
seems physically inadequate to the work she is engaged in. In
her youth she must have possessed considerable beauty, and she
is still very comely, with a soft and musical voice, graceful figure,
and very winning manners. Secretary Cameron vested her with
sole power to appoint female nurses in the hospitals. Secretary
Stanton, on succeeding him ratified the appointment, and she has
installed several hundreds of nurses in this noble work-all of
them Protestants, and middle-aged. Miss Dix's whole soul is in
this work. She rents two large houses, which are depots for
sanitary supplies sent to her care, and houses of rest and refresh-
ment for nurses and convalescent soldiers, employs two secretaries,
owns ambulances and keeps them busily employed, prints and
distributes circulars, goes hither and thither from one remote
point to another in her visitations of hospitals,—and pays all the
expenses incurred from her private purse. Her fortune, time and
strength are laid on the altar of the country in this hour of trial.
“Unfortunately, many of the surgeons in the hospitals do not
work harmoniously with Miss Dix. They are jealous of her
power, impatient of her authority, find fault with her nurses, and
accuse her of being arbitrary, opinionated, severe and capricious.
Many to rid themselves of her entirely, have obtained permission
of Surgeon-General Hammond to employ Sisters of Charity in
their hospitals, a proceeding not to Miss Dix's liking. Knowing
by observation that many of the surgeons are wholly unfit for
their office, that too often they fail to bring skill, morality, or
humanity to their work, we could easily understand how this
single-hearted, devoted, tireless friend of the sick and wounded
boldier would come in collision with these laggards, and we liked
her none the less for it.”
Though Miss Dix received no salary, devoting to the work her
time and labors without remuneration, a large amount of supplies
were placed in her hands, both by the Government and from
private sources, which she was always ready to dispense with
judgment and caution, it is true, but with a pleasant earnestness

88
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
alike grateful to the recipient of the kindness, or to the agent
who acted in her stead in this work of mercy.
It was perhaps unfortunate for Miss Dix that at the time when
she received her appointment it was so unprecedented, and the
entire service was still in such a chaotic state, that it was simply
impossible to define her duties or her authority. As, therefore,
no plan of action or rules were adopted, she was forced to abide
exclusively by her own ideas of need and authority. In a letter
to the writer, from an official source, her position and the changes
that became necessary are thus explained:
“The appointment of nurses was regulated by her ideas of
their prospective usefulness, good moral character being an abso-
lute prerequisite. This absence of system, and independence of
action, worked so very unsatisfactorily, that in October, 1863, a
General Order was issued placing the assignment, or employment
of female nurses, exclusively under control of Medical Officers,
and limiting the superintendency to a certificate of approval,'
without which no woman nurse could be employed, except by
order of the Surgeon-General. This materially reduced the num-
ber of appointments, secured the muster and pay of those in
service, and established discipline and order.”
The following is the General Order above alluded to.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 351.
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
WASHINGTON, October 29, 1863.
The employment of women nurses in the United States General Hospitale
will in future be strictly governed by the following rules :
1. Persons approved by Miss Dix, or her authorized agents, will receive froin
her, or them, "certificates of approval,” which must be countersigned by
Medical Directors upon their assignment to duty as nurses within their Depart-
ments.
2. Assignments of "women nurses" to duty in General Hospitals will only
be niade upon application by the Surgeons in charge, through Medical Direc-
tors, to Miss Dix or her agents, for the number they require, not exceeding one
to every thirty beds.

DOROTHEA L. DIX.
89
3. No females, except Hospital Matrons, will be employed in General
Hospitals, or, after December 31, 1863, born upon the Muster and Pay Rolls,
without such certificates of approval and regular assignment, unless specially
appointed by the Surgeon-General.
4. Women nurses, while on duty in General Hospitals, are under the exclu-
sive control of the senior medical officer, who will direct their several duties,
and may be discharged by him when considered supernumerary, or for incom-
petency, insubordination, or violation of his orders. Such discharge, with the
reasons therefor, being endorsed upon the certificate, will be at once returned
to Miss Dix.
BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
OFFICIAL:
By this Order the authority of Miss Dix was better defined, but
she continued to labor under the same difficulty which had from
the first clogged her efforts. Authority had been bestowed upon
her, but not the power to enforce obedience. There was no pen-
alty for disobedience, and persons disaffected, iorgetful, or idle,
might refuse or neglect to obey with impunity. It will at once
be seen that this fact must have resulted disastrously upon her
efforts. She doubtless had enemies (as who has not)? and some
were jealous of the power and prominence of her position, while
many might even feel unwilling, under any circumstances, to ac-
knowledge, and yield to the authority of a woman. Added to
this she had, in some cases, and probably without any fault on
her part, failed to secure the confidence and respect of the sur.
geons in charge of hospitals. In these facts lay the sources of
trials, discouragements, and difficulties, all to be met, struggled
with, and, if possible, triumphed over by a woman, standing
quite alone in a most responsible, laborious, and exceptional
position. It indeed seems most wonderful-almost miraculous-
that under such circumstances, such a vast amount of good was
accomplished. Had she not accomplished half so much, she still
would richly have deserved that highest of plaudits—Well done
good and faithful servant !
12

90
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Miss Dix has one remarkable peculiarity—undoubted.y re.
markable in one of her sex which is said, and with truth--10
possess great approbativeness. She does not apparently desire
fame, she does not enjoy being talked about, even in praise. The
approval of her own conscience, the consciousness of performing
an unique and useful work, seems quite to suffice he: Few
women are so self-reliant, self-sustained, self-centered. And in
saying this we but echo the sentiments, if not the words, of an
eminent divine who, like herself, was during the whole war de-
voted to a work similar in its purpose, and alike responsible and
arduous.
“She (Miss Dix) is a lady who likes to do things and not have
them talked about. She is freer from the love of public reputa-
tion than any woman I know. Then her plans are so strictly
her own, and always so wholly controlled by her own individual
genius and power, that they cannot well be participated in by
others, and not much understood.
“Miss Dix, I suspect, was as early in, as long employed, and
as self-sacrificing as any woman who offered her services to the
country. She gave herself-body, soul and substance to the
good work. I wish we had any record of her work, but we have
not.
“I should not dare to speak for her-about her work—except
to say that it was extended, patient and persistent beyond any-
thing I know of, dependent on a single-handed effort.”
All the testimony goes to show that Miss Dix is a woman en-
dowed with warm feelings and great kindness of heart. It is
only those who do not know her, or who have only met her in
the confliet of opposing wills, who pronounce her, as some have
done, a cold and heartless egotist. Opinionated she may be,
because convinced of the general soundness of her ideas, and infal-
libility of her judgment. If the success of great designs, under-
taken and carried through single-handed, furnish warrant for such
conviction, she has an undoubted right to hold it.

DOROTHEA L. DIX.
91
Her nature is large and generous, yet with no room for narrow
grudges, or mean reservations. As a proof of this, her store's
were as readily dispensed for the use of a hospital in which the
surgeon refused and rejected her nurses, as for those who employed
them.
She had the kindest care and oversight over the women she
had commissioned. She wished them to embrace every opportu-
nity for the rest and refreshment rendered necessary by their
arduous labors. A home for them was established by her in
Washington, which at all times opened its doors for their recep-
tion, and where she wished them to enjoy that perfect quiet and
freedom from care, during their occasional sojourns, which were
the best remedies for their weariness and exhaustion of body and
soul.
In her more youthful days Miss Dix devoted herself consider-
ably to literary pursuits. She has published several works ano-
nymously—the first of which—“The Garland of Flora,” was
published in Boston in 1829. This was succeeded by a number
of books for children, among which were “ Conversations about
Common Things," " Alice and Ruth,” and “Evening Hours.”
She has also published a variety of tracts for prisoners, and has
written many memorials to legislative bodies on the subject of the
foundation and conducting of Lunatic Asylums.
Miss Dix is gifted with a singularly gentle and persuasive
voice, and her manners are said to exert a remarkably controlling
influence over the fiercest maniacs.
She is exceedingly quiet and retiring in her deportment, delicate
and refined in manner, with great sweetness of expression. She
is far from realizing the popular idea of the strong-minded wo-
man-loud, boisterous and uncouth, claiming as a right, what
might, perhaps, be more readily obtained as a courteous conces-
sion. On the contrary, her successes with legislatures and indi-
viduals, are obtained by the mildest efforts, which yet lack nothing
of persistence; and few persons beholding this delicate and retir-

92
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
career.
mg woman would imagine they saw in her the champion of the
oppressed and suffering classes.
Miss Dix regards her army work but as an episode in her
She did what she could, and with her devotion of self
and high patriotism she would have done no less. She pursued
her labors to the end, and her position was not resigned until
many months after the close of the war. In fact, she tarried in
Washington to finish many an uncompleted task, for some time
after her office had been abolished.
When all was done she returned at once to that which she
considers her life's work, the amelioration of the condition of the
insane.
A large portion of the winter of 1865–6 was devoted to au
attempt to induce the Legislature of New York to make better
provision for the insane of that State, and to procure, or erect for
them, several asylums of small size where a limited number under
the care of experienced physicians, might enjoy greater facilities
for a cure, and a better prospect of a return to the pursuits and
pleasures of life.
Miss Dix now resides at Trenton, New Jersey, where she has
since the war fixed her abode, travelling thence to the various
scenes of her labors. Wherever she may be, and however
engaged, we may be assured that her object is the good of some
portion of the race, and is worthy of the prayers and blessings of
all who love humanity and seek the promotion of its best inte-
rests. And to the close of her long and useful life, the thanks,
the heartfelt gratitude of every citizen of our common country so
deeply indebted to her, and to the many devoted and self-sacri-
ficing women whose efforts she directed, must as assuredly follow
her. She belongs now to History, and America may proudly
claim her daughter.

LADIES WHO MINISTERED TO THE SICK AND WOUNDED IN CAP
FIELD AND GENERAL HOSPITALS.


MRS, ELIZA POTTER.
N the whole history of the rebellion, so recently sup-
pressed, there was nothing more deserving of our
admiration, nothing which appeals more strongly to
our feelings of reverence for moral heroism, than the
conduct of the few loyal women of the South. The number of
persons of either sex, in any community, who have the moral
courage to stand up in defiance of the sentiments and prejudices
of the overwhelming majority of that community, especially on
questions involving the rights and constitution of the State,
when that majority are so frantic with rage and excitement as to
be ready to put down any opposition by violence or murder, is
very small. To maintain such a position of opposition for more
than four years, when it involved complete isolation from society,
constant obloquy and abuse, the loss of property, and the fre-
quent peril of life, required a heroism to which comparatively
few ever attain.
The loyal women of the South, solely from the love they bore
to their country and its cause, endured all these trials and hard-
ships. Personal, political, or pecuniary rewards they could not
hope for; it was much if their lives were not the forfeit of their
patriotism. Yet none made such sacrifices as they to minister to
our sick and wounded soldiers, prisoners in the hands of the
enemy.
It is to the work of one of the bravest and truest of these-a
woman whose faithful and untiring labors have hitherto found
no record save in the hearts of the thousands to whom she
95

96
WOMEN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
ministered, and in the book of God's remembrance that we
propose to devote a little space and time.
Mrs. Eliza Potter was the daughter of Scottish parents of
intelligence, piety, and worth, but was herself born in the North
of Ireland. She emigrated to this country when thirteen years
of age, and after acquiring a good education was married while
yet very young to Mr. Lorenzo T. Potter, a native of Providence,
R. I., but then, as now, a merchant of Charleston, S. C. In
that city Mrs. Potter has made her home for thirty years. Her
husband, a man of high intelligence, enterprise, probity, and
worth, occupied a leading position among the merchants of the
Southern metropolis; and so great had been the services which
he had rendered the city of his adoption, in the improvement of
its streets, piers, and harbor, in the development of its resources
ard commerce, that he had more than once received the formal
thanks of the city government for his public spirit and his labors
for the public good. His enterprises had been crowned with
success, and when, in December, 1860, the city and State re-
solved upon Secession, Mr. Potter was one of the heaviest tax-
payers of Charleston, his property being assessed at nearly half
a million of dollars. In his family Mr. Potter was very happy.
Of ten children who had blessed their union six were living,
and all children of remarkable promise. His disposition was
genial and gentle, but firm, and in his wife he had indeed a
help-meet-one who could sympathize with him and sustain him
in any season of sorrow or trial, and rejoice with him in his days
of prosperity. Their ample fortune was not expended in per-
sonal or social display; theirs was a quiet, simple, unpretending
home, but a large and noble hospitality was constantly main-
tained in it, and the poor, the sick, and the suffering had in Mrs.
Potter a kind and judicious friend. In the epidemics of yellow
fever, with which the city had been visited, Mrs. Potter had always
considered it her duty to remain, and her skill and tenderness
in nursing those who were attacked by the fearful disease were

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
97
well known. These philanthropic labors, as well as the refine-
ment, culture, and unaffected piety which were among the most
beautiful traits of her character, had won for her a numerous
circle of professed friends, and her home was constantly visited
hy the elite of Charleston society.
When the leaders of the rebellion, of which Charleston was
the birth-place, began to talk of Secession, Mr. Potter was silent,
but when his opinion was demanded avowed himself heartily and
fully devoted to the National cause and the National flag. This
avowal was very irritating to the leaders of the Secession move-
ment; they had counted confidently on his calm, clear judgment,
his lofty and upright character, and his wealth, as valuable acces-
sions of strength to their cause, and they left no argument or
inducement untried to gain his assent to their schemes. They
represented to him the coming glories of the Southern Con-
federacy, when Charleston, instead of New York, should be the
metropolis of the Atlantic coast, when weekly if not daily
steamships should ply to the ports of England and France, and
their great staple should rule the world, as it now ruled the
United States. They offered him any post of honor or trust he
might desire in the Confederacy; and knowing his thorough
familiarity with the harbor (he having years before contracted
for constructing the foundations of Fort Sumter), they proffered
him the stupendous bribe of five thousand dollars a day if he
would accompany a surveying party in making a tour of the
harbor, and designate the points where torpedoes might be planted
to prevent the approach of Union vessels to succor the already
sorely-pressed garrison of Fort Sumter.
To all of these offers of honor or profit Mr. Potter had but
one reply—that he loved his country and its flag, and that if he
could not from his position serve it actively, at least he would
not, under any circumstances or for any consideration, do or aid
in doing anything which could injure it.
Finding all these inducements vain, they changed their tactics.
13

98
WOMENS WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
They represented to him that he would be entirely alone, that in
all Charleston there were not half a dozen men who were opposed
to Secession (a statement not far from the truth), and that while it
would be matter of regret to them to stand aloof from him, they
should be compelled in duty to do so, and that it might be that
much as he was honored he would expose himself by his con-
tuimacy to the vengeance of the military authorities, which would
not respect even his eminent services in the past. It was all in
vain. Gentle as he had always been deemed, the eternal hills
were not firmer in their adherence to loyalty and truth than he.
His wife was like-minded, but, as became her Scottish blood, more
fearlessly and defiantly loyal than her husband. She had never
been naturalized, and now, claiming British protection as being
still a British subject, she prepared to do what she could to aid the
North in the struggle which was so evidently approaching. That
sweet, matronly face, from which twenty-five years of cares, sor-
rows, pains, anxieties, and joys had only mellowed and chastened
the extraordinary beauty of its early prime, now glowed with
high and holy emotion as she dedicated her services thenceforth
to the cause of her country and her God.
The
year that followed was one of anxiety and depression. At
first there was but little to be done except to watch and wait.
Mrs. Potter, with wise prevision, prepared hospital stores against
the time when they should be needed, but they were made to feel
daily that the isolation to which they were doomed was growing
more and more complete; those whom they had regarded its
friends for years no longer visited them, and if they met them
upon the street refused to recognize them. A few yet maintained
a calling acquaintance, but even these availed themselves of this,
for the most part, either to remonstrate with or to abuse them.
The rebel General, Beauregard, evidently regarded them with
suspicion, and, as they afterwards learned, set spies over them; and
in every way they were made to feel that their loyalty was, in
the eyes of the people of Charleston, a horrible offence. Mean-

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
99
time, intercourse with the North was almost wholly cut off, and
they could only learn of any success on the part of the North
by the added ferocity of the papers of the city. With that
perverse tendency to bombast and rhodomontade which had
always characterized the newspapers of Charleston, the Union
troops were only spoken of as “the Vandal foe,” or sometimes, for
short, “the Vans;" and bitter were the denunciations which were
heapeil on any one at the South who should show the least
sym-
patly for them, even in misfortune. The defeat of the North
at Bull Run was made the subject of the most frantic rejoicing,
and the younger women manifested the greatest anxiety to obtain
the bones of some of the Vandals to wear as trophies of their
victory. The capture of Hilton Head, of Roanoke Island, and
Newbern, on the contrary, filled them with rage, and no language
was too bitter or violent to express their hate of the Union and
of Union men.
Late in the autumn of 1861, a few Union prisoners, some of
them wounded, were brought to Charleston, and Mrs. Potter,
true to her principles, at once set about supplying them with
needed comforts and ministering to them. She had the gratification
of knowing that, owing in a good degree to her care, they were
nearly all restored to their ranks in health and condition to do
further service to their country.
Then followed a season of domestic affliction. Their eldest
daughter, just at the age of dawning womanhood-a lovely, pious,
and remarkably mature girl—was smitten with fever, and after
several weeks' illness, was taken from them. As she hovered on
the verge of the spirit world, she seemed gifted with a prophetic
view of the future, and while she bade her mother be of good
cheer, for that the clouds which now darkened the sky should
surely be lifted, she asked most earnestly that a friend, one of
the few who yet visited them, would come often to see her mother
after she was gone, "for," said she, "she will be very lonely in
the trying time that is coming soon.”

100
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
In June, 1862, occurred the disastrous battle of James Island,
in which the Union forces lost some four hundred or more pris-
oners, most of them wounded. These were brought into Charles-
ton, and nothing could exceed the fury and hatred manifested
toward them by nearly all classes of the white population of the
city. Fair and delicately-nurtured women, who boasted of their
superior refinement and culture, were ready to propose their
murder in cold blood, and to express the hope that they would die
of their wounds. All pity, all sympathy, all womanly tender-
ness seemed to have fled from the hearts of these furies. No
sooner did Mrs. Potter learn of the arrival of these poor wounded
prisoners than she determined to nurse and care for them. To
do this was a matter of great difficulty. She was in delicate
health, and the few quasi Union women who still maintained
their intimacy with her protested strongly against her under-
taking such a work in her condition; the military authorities had
issued orders that no further attentions should be bestowed upon
them than such as were necessary to prevent a pestilence, and the
surgeon in charge was a rabid Secessionist, brutal and profane.
The place assigned as a hospital for them was an old negro-pen
and mart, long used for the confinement and sale of slaves, with
its kitchen and other outbuildings. There was no floor but earth,
and it was a filthy and miserable den, into which any man of
common humanity would have shrunk from thrusting a sick or
wounded beast.
Mrs. Potter comprehended the situation at once. She saw that
her only chance for accomplishing her purpose of ministering to
those wounded soldiers must be through this rebel surgeon, and
with skillful diplomacy she began to study the best method of
influencing him. He had a mother in Charleston with whom she
had had a slight acquaintance, though never hitherto a willing
one. Now, however, she visited her with some presents of
articles not readily procurable, and talked with her about her
She soon found that he was ambitious of promotion, and
son.

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
101
was looking forward with some anxious longings to an appoint-
ment as surgeon of one of the large hospitals at Richmond,
Here was something to work upon. Having ascertained at what
time he would be at home, she returned and met him in the
evening, and after listening to his ribald denunciation of the
Vandals, asked to be allowed to visit the hospital as a matter of
curiosity. He objected very strongly; said it was not a fit place
for a lady to go to, “that the rascals didn't deserve any
pity or attention; he wished he was rid of them, and he would
be soon; he'd wing them.” By dint of urgency and more potent
appliances, however, she obtained permission to visit the hospital
the next morning. She had been forewarned that many of the
men had been deprived of their clothing, "removed,” the sur-
geon said, “to get at their wounds," but, in fact, stolen; and she
had provided herself with portions of sheets and some hospital
clothing, as well as cordials and such simple nourishment as
could be most readily administered to them. A servant brought
these to the foul den which the rebels had taken for a hospital,
and Mrs. Potter and her son, a noble, brave boy of fifteen,
received them and entered the place. What an appalling sight
met their eyes! Almost four hundred men suffering from
wounds of every description, and, with hardly an exception,
entirely, nude, lay scattered over the filthy earth-floor, without
blanket, mattrass, pillow, sheet, or even straw to rest upon; their
wounds undressed, covered with flies and maggots, and tortured
with thirst. The only attendants were the lowest dregs of the
white population of the city, thieves and prostitutes taken from
the slums or from the jails to wait on these poor fellows; and
actuated by the same feelings as their superiors in station, they
cursed the poor wounded men, jeered at and reviled them, and
when compelled to furnish them with water or food, they took
care that both should be as unpalatable as possible, and adminis-
tered in such a way as to increase their sufferings.
Sending her on before her to lay gently on each mangled and

102
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
suffering body a part of a sheet or other covering for its naked-
ness, Mrs. Potter advanced into the room and administered, so
far as possible, cordials, soft custard, and other nourishment to
the men, and washed and cleansed their wounds. In these
ministrations of mercy she was constantly insulted and taunted
by the vile wretches who were acting as professed attendants,
and was told that "her white neck would get stretched if she
went to do for them Vandals.” In the negro kitchen adjoining
the main building she found a soldier from one of the Connecti-
cut regiments, wounded in the head and shoulder, who had been
thrown down with his head and neck resting in the ash-pit or
fire-place of the kitchen; the oozing blood and the lukewarm
water which had been thrown upon his wounds had made a lye
with the ashes, which had eaten through a large portion of the
skin of the neck and back of the head. She relieved him as far
as possible, and having accomplished all she could that day, she
set out for home, after arranging for another interview with the
surgeon. She remonstrated with him in regard to the wretched
condition of the wounded prisoners, but he declared that it was
good enough for them, the Vandals; it was better than
they deserved. “That may be,” said Mrs. Potter, “but you
cannot afford to have them left in that condition; you are look-
ing for promotion to a Richmond hospital, and you can only
obtain it by proving that you know how to manage a hospital
well. If, with all the difficulties in your way, you can make this
a model hospital, you will have earned and will doubtless receive
promotion.” He saw the reasonableness of this, but said that the
Confederate authorities would not furnish him with the necessary
hospital supplies to make it a good hospital. “I can help you
in that matter," said Mrs. Potter. “Appoint
Appoint me a nurse in your
hospital, and I will furnish you the necessary beds and bedding
for the men, and such comforts and special articles of diet as
they may need, and will perform a nurse's duty beside; and very
soon you can demonstrate your claim to a better position.” The

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
103
surgeon objected to this, that she ought not to be brought into
contact with such wretches as were then the nurses in the hos-
pital. She replied that if she chose to take that risk he need not
be anxious about it, and finally succeeded in obtaining from him
the appointment, he drawing her pay and rations.
She entered upon her duties at once. In a factory of her hus-
band's, near Charleston, then closed, there were a large number
of mattrasses which had been used by his hands. These she had
• brought to the hospital, furnished with suitable bedding, and she
drew upon her home stores for the necessary hospital clothing
as well as the food and delicacies needed. She endeavored to
persuade the other nurses and attendants to wash the soiled
clothing of the men, but they refused, and, whenever it was
removed, destroyed it; and she was compelled to hire, at her own
expense, the washing for all the patients in the hospital. She
expended over eleven hundred dollars in this work alone. She
dressed the wounds of the men herself, and with the aid of her
son kept them cleanly and comfortable. This involved, in such
a miserable and filthy place, a vast amount of labor—much of it
of the most unpleasant character—but she never shrank from it;
and in a short time that hospital was superior in neatness and
comfort to any other in Charleston. The surgeon took all the
glory to himself. “This is the way I keep my hospital,” he
would
say to the rebel officers who visited him, and several times
he was censured by the rebel authorities for suffering the
“Vandals” to be so comfortable. Poor fellows! very little of their
comfort was due to any kind offices of his. At times the old
ferocity of his nature would gleam out, even in his intercourse
with Mrs. Potter. One day, a soldier who had received some
terrible wounds in the head, one of which had laid bare a portion
of the brain, attracted her attention ; the maggots, by hundreds,
were crawling over his wounds, and he seemed to be suffering
intensely. She carefully removed the loathsome creatures, washed
his wounds tenderly, and laid cool, wet cloths upon them. He

104
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
had not for some time previously shown any consciousness, but
when she had completed her task he groped for her hands, and
seizing them, cried out, “Mother! mother!"
“ Mother! mother!” She was affected to
tears by this; and as he still held her hands with a firm grasi',
though seemingly dying or dead, she was compelled to wait a
little before she could remove them.
The next day, as she came into the hospital, the surgeon said to
her, “Oh, Mrs. Potter, I have something I want to show you.
.
Come this way.” She followed him as he went to the dead-house,
one of the miserable appendages of the hospital. Calling her atten-
tion to a rough box, he slipped off the cover and exposed the
body of the poor sufferer, covered completely with maggots (its
only covering), and said, with a sneering tone, “There's your pet!"
Symptoms of scurvy began to make their appearance among
the men, and finding it impossible to obtain a sufficiency of
oranges, lemons, and limes in the Charleston market, Mrs. Potter
sent to Nassau, N. P., for them, and ran the blockade repeatedly
with her small ventures of tropical fruits. She made it a rule to
refuse nothing to a wounded soldier which it was in her power to
obtain, let the cost be what it might; and more than once, when
tropical fruits were scarcest, and the Confederate currency seri-
ously depreciated, she paid ten dollars each for oranges for her
patients. Occasionally she brought them flowers, but the surgeon,
partly perhaps at the prompting of other rebels, prohibited this,
because it was giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Mrs. Potter's labors for the Union prisoners, though conducted
quietly and as secretly as possible, drew down upon her the scorn
and spite of the rebels in every form which their malignity could
devise. The fences and walls of her dwelling were constantly
covered with abusive and obscene inscriptions, attacking alike her
character and her motives. One of her servants found almost
constant employment in effacing these evidences of petty spite.
As she passed along the streets to and from the hospital, women
of high social position, who a short time before had been proud

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
105
of invitations to visit her, drew away their skirts as they passed
her, lest they should be polluted by contact with a Union woman ;
and with nose uplifted and contemptuous shrugs, indicated their
contempt for one who dared be a helper of wounded Union sol-
diers. The lower classes manifested their hate by the foulest
and most abusive language.
Twice she was summoned to headquarters to answer to the
serious charges of "giving aid and comfort to the enemy," and
of “shedding tears over the Vandal foe.” Her husband was
repeatedly questioned by the military authorities as to his wife's
giving so much help to the “Vandals;" but he replied always
that his wife was a British subject, and therefore not responsible
to them for what she did for these wounded men, and that she
had resources of her own, which she expended without rendering
him an account of them. He, meantime, in every way in his
power, aided our soldiers who were in Southern prisons. His
money bribed Confederate provost marshals to allow the trans-
mission of supplies to Andersonville prisoners, when those supplies
alone preserved them from a general starvation; his money and
supplies reached the prisoners at Columbia and Florence, and
mitigated, though it could not wholly prevent, the suffering
there. The officers imprisoned under fire at Charleston were
supplied with all necessary household utensils and food from his
table; and those who escaped from the rebel prison found in him a
protector, and were sheltered by his care for long periods—one of
them for twenty-two months—till there was a feasible chance of
escape. A truer-hearted patriot never lived than he.
The soldiers who had been wounded at James Island either
died or recovered so far as to be deemed capable of removal to
Columbia, Florence, or Salisbury; but others, captured in the
siege of Fort Wagner, or on the ruins of Fort Sumter, or else-
where on the coast, were sent to take their places, and Mrs. Pot-
ter found constant employment for her active charities. One
incident in connection with the removal of the convalescent
14

106
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
prisoners to Columbia is worthy of record. Knowing that at
Columbia they would not in all probability find Union women to
nurse them as tenderly as she had done, she devoted several days
before their departure to instructing those who were most nearly
l'ecovered to care for the weaker and feebler prisoners, to drese
their wounds, and give them nourishment. She had provided
bundles of bandages and rags for dressings, and packages of
crackers and bread for their journey. These she brought down
to the hospital on the morning of their departure, intending to
distribute them to them before they entered the ambulances; but
their departure was hastened by the military authorities, and
when she arrived they were all in the ambulances. Into each of
those she threw a bundle of bandages, but while doing so was
arrested by the guard, who charged her with giving the prisoners
the means of escape. She explained; but they would listen to no
explanation, and surrounded her with their bayonets, threatening
her with instant death or with long imprisonment for what she
had done; while outside, the howling mob were shouting, “Kill
her! Shoot her! Hang her! She is a - Yankee! Run
her through !” &c., &c. Mrs. Potter did not lose her self-posses-
sion, though she was aware of the danger she was in, but de-
manded to be taken to the headquarters. At this moment the
surgeon, who was to take charge of the prisoners en route to
Columbia, rode up, and ascertaining the state of the case, ordered
them to “disperse, and leave that woman alone.” The guard and
the mob at their back, did not like to lose their victim so easily,
and refused to release her until he should prove that he was really
the surgeon in charge. When he had produced his commission,
and the sergeant of the guard had made out the signature of the
chief of staff, they sullenly drew back, and allowed her to
escape.
But at this time, (the summer and autumn of 1863) there came
to this patriotic family a still more painful and bitter experience
of the malignity of the rebels of their city. We have already

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
107
He was
put it
spoken of their eldest son, the companion of his mother in all her
charitable labors, and her comforter in all her sorrows.
a noble, manly, Christiap boy, gentle and tender in his feelings,
yet brave and firm in the maintenance of right. At the begin-
ning of the war he had received from some friend the present of
a Union flag. He prized it highly for the giver's sake, but more
highly as the emblem of the Union, and requested his mother to
away
for him till the time should come when it might
again wave over a loyal city. He was a pupil in the Charleston
High School, and was expecting to graduate there, and enter col-
lege in the autumn.
It had, somehow, come to the knowledge of some of the pupils
of the high school, sons of some of the rebel aristocracy, that
young Potter had this flag, and they demanded it of him, that
they might trample on it and destroy it. He refused to surren-
der it. They threatened him with a whipping, but he was firm.
Soon after he told his mother of their threats, and his determi-
nation not to give up the flag. She approved his resolution, and
told him that he would not be the first who had suffered for the
flag of the nation. A few days later he came home and sent to
his mother, to ask her to come to his room. He had been most
cruelly beaten, and his back was covered with gory stripes, but
he made no complaint, except to say, “I can hear this, mother,
but I cannot bear to have them abuse you as they do.” “Their
abuse does not injure me, my son," was her reply; "our Master
was reviled and evil-entreated, and why should not his servants
suffer what he suffered?” The knowledge of this cruel outrage was
kept from his father, who was at the time very anxious in regard
to the condition of some of the Union soldiers, and who was also
greatly harassed by the rebels. The young ruffians, when they
found their victim determined not to yield, threatened to finish
him next time. Mrs. Potter did not believe they would carry
out their threat, but she took what precautions she could to pre-
vent her son from being exposed to their malignity. It was,

108
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
however, all in vain. He was to go to the high school to receive
his diploma, before entering college, and when he came, these
young villains laid in wait for him, and while one called his at-
tention in another direction, the others set upon him, beat him on
the head, and in a few minutes he was borne to his home, bleed-
ing and insensible. He recovered his consciousness for a little
time, conversed freely with his mother, of his hopes of heaven,
his trust in Jesus, and his faith in the final triumph of the na-
tional cause.
He acknowledged that he knew those who had as-
saulted him, but refused to give their names, and prayed for
their forgiveness. Delirium soon supervened, and after some
months of severe suffering, typhoid fever set in, and death came
to relieve his poor bruised and mangled body from further dis-
tress. The mother, though at first almost overwhelmed at this
terrible affliction, bore up under it with the patience and fortitude
of a Christian. Rising from her sick bed, while this sorrow was
yet fresh, she sought to relieve her overburdened heart by min-
istering to those who were suffering in the hospital. Never had
her ministrations there been so gentle and tender, or her sympa-
thies so hearty for those who had been wounded in defending the
flag. Large numbers of those in the hospital at this time were
very severely wounded, and sank under their wounds. To these
she devoted herself especially, pointing them to the great Sacri-
fice for sin, and in many instances she was permitted to rejoice
that they manifested evidence of having given their hearts to the
Saviour before they departed.
The soldiers thus tenderly cared for, almost worshiped her.
We have seen letters from several of those who survived and re-
turned to the army or to their homes, so touching and earnest in
their gratitude that their perusal would affect any reader to tears.
The friends and families of the soldiers, at home, to whom, as
often as opportunity could be found, she transmitted the dying
messages and keepsakes entrusted to her charge, recognized with

MRS. ELIZA POTTER.
109
the deepest thankfulness their indebtedness to her faitliful care
for these mementos of the heroic dead.
The cruelties inflicted on the wounded men by the rebel sur-
geons and attendants affected her deeply. On one occasion she
had been moved by tears by some of their barbarities, and though,
from fear of depressing the spirits of the men, she generally ab-
stained from weeping in their presence, at this time she could not
restrain herself, and shed tears as she performed her usual round
of duties for the men. One poor fellow, severely wounded, was
near death, and from him she received dying messages and en-
deavored to prepare him for his coming dissolution. As she left
him, she dropped her handkerchief, and presently returned for it,
when the dying soldier, looking up in her face, said beseech-
ingly, “It was wet with your tears, lady; let me keep it on my
heart till I die."
There was, naturally enough, among the men an apprehension
that their services and sacrifices for their country would be for-
gotten, and that when the struggle was over and peace had re-
turned, none would remember even the names of those who had
laid down their lives to secure the blessings of freedom. This
fear Mrs. Potter earnestly combated. “If I live,” she said, "to
see the return of peace, your deeds shall be recorded for your
honor and the everlasting remembrance of the nation: if I die,
I will bequeath it as a sacred trust to my children, to see that
this work shall not be neglected.”
Peace came, but the war had swept away Mr. Potter's large
estate, except twenty thousand dollars which she had expended
for the wounded and imprisoned soldiers, and about twice that
sum which her husband had given for the same purpose. That,
as given for a holy cause, they reckoned saved. But not for a
moment did Mrs. Potter hesitate to fulfill her pledge to these
dear soldiers of the Republic. A lot was secured in Magnolia
Cemetery near Charleston; the Government have undertaken to
fence it; the bodies of three hundred and thirty Union soldiers,

110
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
who died in the prison hospitals of Charleston and were buried
in the potter's field of that city, are, this autumn, to be removed
to their new resting-place; and partly from the wreck of her own
fortune, and partly by personal effort among her friends, this he-
roic woman has procured the means for the completion of a shaft
of ever-during granite, eighteen feet high, on which is inscribed
the legend, IMMORTALITY TO HUNDREDS OF THE DEFENDERS OF
AMERICAN LIBERTY AGAINST THE GREAT REBELLION, and
with it the names of a hundred and seventy-one of these dead
heroes, and a commemorative tribute to the unknown dead
soldiers of the Union whose names it was not possible to ascer-
tain. The record of these dead soldiers, imperfect as it is, is due
entirely to Mrs. Potter's solicitous care.
The name of every
soldier who entered the hospital, where it could be ascertained, was
carefully entered by her, and copied by her daughter.
The nation's gratitude is due to those who for the love of their
country "jeoparded their lives, even unto the death, in the high
places of the field;" to those who in rebel prisons, foul, dank
and loathsome, battled with starvation and fever, and often sank
in the contest; is it not also due, and even in larger measure, to
those, who, surrounded by rebels and exposed to all their malig-
nity, suffered a perpetual martyrdom, while ministering to our
sick and wounded men, and with no hope of reward, save in an
approving conscience and the smile of God, gave their time, their
substance, and their lives to the nation's deliverance ?

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.*
F those whom the first blast of the war trump roused
and called to lives of patriotic devotion and philan-
thropic endeavor, some were led instinctively to asso-
ciated labor, and found their zeal inflamed, their
patriotic efforts cheered and encouraged by communion with those
who were like-minded. To these the organizations of the Sol-
diers' Aid Societies and of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions
were a necessity; they provided a place and way for the exercise
and development of those capacities for noble and heroic endeavor,
and generous self-sacrifice, so gloriously manifested by many of
our American women, and which it has given us so much pleasure
to record in these pages.
But there were others endowed by their Creator with greater
independence of character and higher executive powers, who while
not less modest and retiring in disposition than their sisters, yet
preferred to mark out their own career, and pursue a compara-
tively independent course. They worked harmoniously with the
various sanitary and other organizations when brought into con-
tact with them, but their work was essentially distinct from them,
and was pursued without interfering in any way with that of
others.
* In the preparation of this sketch of Miss Barton, we have availed ourselves,
as far as practicable, of a paper prepared for us by a clerical friend of the lady,
who had known her from childh od. The passages from this paper are indi.
cated by quotation marks.
111

112
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
To this latter class pre-eminently belongs Miss Clara Harlowe
Barton.
Quiet, modest, and unassuming in manner and appearance,
there is beneath this quiet exterior an intense energy, a compre-
hensive intellect, a resolute will, and an executive force, which is
found in few of the stronger sex, and which mingled with the
tenderness and grace of refined womanhood eminently qualifies
her to become an independent power.
Miss Barton was born in North Oxford, Worcester County,
Massachusetts. Her father, Stephen Barton, Sr., was a man
highly esteemed in the community in which he dwelt, and by
which his worth was most thoroughly known. In early youth
he had served as a soldier in the West under General Wayne,
the “Mad Anthony” of the early days of the Republic, and his
boyish eyes had witnessed the evacuation of Detroit by the British
in 1796. “His military training may have contributed to the
sterling uprightness, the inflexible will, and the devotion to law
and order and rightful authority for which he was distinguished.”
The little Clara was the youngest by several years in a family of
two brothers and three sisters. She was early taught that pri-
meval benediction, miscalled a curse, which requires mankind to
earn their bread. Besides domestic duties and a very thorough
public school training she learned the general rules of business
by acting as clerk and book-keeper for her eldest brother. Next
she betook herself to the district school, the usual stepping-stone
for all aspiring men and women in New England. She taught
for several years, commencing when very young, in various places
in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The large circle of frierds
thus formed was not without its influence in determining her
military career. So many of her pupils volunteered in the first
years
of the war that at the second battle of Bull Run she found
seven of them, each of whom had lost an arm or a leg.
“One example will show her character as a teacher. She went
to Bordentown, N. J., in 1853, where there was not, and never

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
113
that came.
had been, a public school. Three or four unsuccessful attempts
had been made, and the idea had been abandoned as not adapted
to that latitude. The brightest boys in the town ran untaught in
the streets. She offered to teach a free school for three months a
her own expense, to convince the citizens that it could be done
and she was laughed at as a visionary. Six weeks of waiting and
debating induced the authorities to fit up an unoccupied building
at a little distance from the town. She commenced with six out-
cast boys, and in five weeks the house would not hold the number
The commissioners, at her instance, erected the pre-
sent school-building of Bordentown, a three-story brick building,
costing four thousand dollars; and there, in the winter of 1853–4,
she organized the city free-school with a roll of six hundred
pupils. But the severe labor, and the great amount of loud
speaking required, in the newly plastered rooms, injured her
health, and for a time deprived her of her voice—the prime agent
of instruction. Being unable to teach, she left New Jersey about
the 1st of March, 1854, seeking rest and a milder climate, and
went as far south as Washington. While there, a friend and
distant relative, then in Congress, voluntarily obtained for her an
appointment in the Patent Office, where she continued until the
fall of 1857. She was employed at first as a copyist, and after-
wards in the more responsible work of abridging original papers,
and preparing records for publication. As she was an excellent
chirographer, with a clear head for business, and was paid by the
piece and not by the month, she made money fast, as matters were
then reckoned, and she was very liberal with it. I met her often
during those years, as I have since and rarely saw her without
some pet scheme of benevolence on her hands which she pursued
with an enthusiasm that was quite heroic, and sometimes amu-
sing. The roll of those she has helped, or tried to help, with her
purse, her personal influence or her counsels, would be a long one;
orphan children, deserted wives, destitute women, sick or unsuc-
cessful relatives, men who had failed in business, and boys who
15

114
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
never had
any
business—all who were in want, or in trouble, and
could claim the slightest acquaintance, came to her for aid and
were never repulsed. Strange it was to see this generous girl,
whose own hands ministered to all her wants, always giving to
those around her, instead of receiving, strengthening the hands
and directing the steps of so many who would have seemed better
calculated to help her. She must have had a native genius for
nursing; for in her twelfth year she was selected as the special
attendant of a sick brother, and remained in his chamber by day
and by night for two years, with only a respite of one half-day in
all that time. Think, O reader! of a little girl in short dresses
and pantalettes, neither going to school nor to play, but impri-
soned for years in the deadly air of a sick room, and made to feel,
every moment, that a brother's life depended on her vigilance.
Then followed a still longer period of sickness and feebleness on
her own part; and from that time to the present, sickness, danger
and death have been always near her, till they have grown fami-
liar as playmates, and she has come to understand all the wants
and ways and waywardness of the sick; has learned to anticipate
their wishes and cheat them of their fears. Those who have been
under her immediate care, will understand me when I say there
is healing in the touch of her hand, and anodyne in the low
melody of her voice. In the first year of Mr. Buchanan's admin-
istration she was hustled out of the Patent Office on a suspicion
of anti-slavery sentiments. She returned to New England, and
devoted her time to study and works of benevolence. In the winter
following the election of Mr. Lincoln, she returned to Washington
at the solicitation of her friends there, and would doubtless have
been reinstated if peace had been maintained. I happened to see
her a day or two after the news came that Fort Sumter had been
She was confident, even enthusiastic. She had feared
that the Southern aristocracy, by their close combination and
superior political training, might succeed in gradually subjugating
the whole country; but of that there was no longer any danger.
fired on.

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
115
The war might be long and bloody, but the rebels had volun-
tarily abandoned a policy in which the chances were in favor of
their ultimate success, for one in which they had no chance at all.
For herself, she had saved a little in time of peace, and she in-
tended to devote it and herself to the service of her country and
of humanity. If war must be, she neither expected nor desired to
come out of it with a dollar. If she survived, she could no doubt
earn a living; and if she did not, it was no matter. This is
actually the substance of what she said, and pretty nearly the
words—without appearing to suspect that it was remarkable."
Three days after Major Anderson had lowered his flag in
Charleston Harbor, the Sixth Massachusetts Militia started for
Washington. Their passage through Baltimore, on the 19th
of April, 1861, is a remarkable point in our national his-
tory. The next day about thirty of the sick and wounded
were placed in the Washington Infirmary, where the Judiciary
Square Hospital now stands. Miss Barton proceeded promptly
to the spot to ascertain their condition and afford such voluntary
relief as might be in her power. Hence, if she was not the first
person in the country in this noble work, no one could have been
more than a few hours before her. The regiment was quartered
at the Capitol, and as those early volunteers will remember,
troops on their first arrival were often very poorly provided for.
The 21st of April happened to be Sunday. No omnibuses ran
that day, and street cars as yet were not; so she hired five colored
persons, loaded them with baskets of ready prepared food, and
proceeded to the Capitol. The freight they bore served as coun-
tersign and
she entered the Senate Chamber, and distributed
her welcome store. Many of the soldiers were from her own
neighborhood, and as they thronged around her, she stood upon
the steps to the Vice President's chair and read to them from a
paper she had brought, the first written history of their departure
and their journey. These two days were the first small begin-
nings of her military experience,-steps which naturally led to
pass;

116
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
much else. Men wrote home their own impressions of what they
saw; and her acts found ready reporters. Young soldiers whom
she had taught or known as boys a few years before, called to see
her on their way to the front. Troops were gathering rapidly,
and hospitals—the inevitable shadows of armies-were springing
up and getting filled. Daily she visited them, bringing to the
sick news, and delicacies and comforts of her own procuring, and
writing letters for those who could not write themselves. Mo-
thers and sisters heard of her, and begged her to visit this one
and that, committing to her care letters, socks, jellies and the
like. Her work and its fame grew week by week, and soon her
room, for she generally had but one, became sadly encumbered
with boxes, and barrels and baskets, of the most varied contents.
Through the summer of 1862, the constant stock she had on
hand averaged about five tons. The goods were mainly the con-
tributions of liberal individuals, churches and sewing-circles to
whom she was personally known. But, although articles of
clothing, lint, bandages, cordials, preserved fruits, liquors, and
the like might be sent, there was always much which she had to
buy herself.
During this period as in her subsequent labors, she neither
sought or received recognition by any department of the Govern-
ment, by which I mean only that she had no acknowledged posi-
tion, rank, rights or duties, was not employed, paid, or compensated
in any way, had authority over no one, and was subject to no one's
orders. She was simply an American lady, mistress of herself
and of no one else; free to stay at home, if she had a home, and
equally free to go where she pleased, if she could procure pass-
ports and transportation, which was not always an easy matter.
From many individual officers, she received most valuable en-
couragement and assistance; from none more than from General
Rucker, the excellent Chief Quartermaster at Washington. He
furnished her storage for her supplies when necessary, transpor-
tation for herself and them, and added to her stores valuable

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
117
contributions at times when they were most wanted. She herself
declares, with generous exaggeration, that if she has ever done
any good, it has been due to the watchful care and kindness of
General Rucker.
About the close of 1861, Miss Barton returned to Massachu-
setts to watch over the declining health of her father, now in his
eighty-eighth year, and failing fast. In the following March she
placed his remains in the little cemetery at Oxford, and theu
returned to Washington and to her former labors. But, as the
spring and summer campaigns progressed, Washington ceased to
be the best field for the philanthropist. In the hospitals of the
Capitol the sick and wounded found shelter, food and attendance.
Private generosity now centered there; and the United States
Sanitary Commission had its office and officers there to minister
to the thousand exceptional wants not provided for by the Army
Regulations. There were other fields where the harvest was
plenteous and the laborers few. Yet could she as a young and
not unattractive lady, go with safety and propriety among a
hundred thousand armed men, and tell them that no one had
sent her? She would encounter rough soldiers, and camp-fol-
lowers of every nation, and officers of all grades of character;
and could she bear herself so wisely and loftily in all trials as to
awe the impertinent, and command the respect of the supercil-
ious, so that she might be free to come and go at her will, and do
what should seem good to her? Or, if she failed to maintain a
character proof against even inuendoes, would she not break the
bridge over which any successor would have to pass ? These
questions she pondered, and prayed and wept over for months,
and has spoken of the mental conflict as the most trying one of
her life. She had foreseen and told all these fears to her father :
and the old man, on his death-bed, advised her to go wherever
she felt it a duty to go. He reminded her that he himself had
been a soldier, and said that all true soldiers would respect her.
He was naturally a man of great benevolence, a member of the

118
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Masonic fraternity, of the Degree of Royal Arch Mason; and
in his last days he spoke much of the purposes and noble
charities of the Order. She had herself received the initiation
accorded to daughters of Royal Arch Masons, and wore on her
bosom a Masonic emblem, by which she was easily recognized by
the brotherhood, and which subsequently proved a valuable
talisman. At last she reached the conclusion that it was right
for her to go amid the actual tumult of battle and shock of
armies. And the fact that she has moved and labored with the
principal armies in the North and in the South for two years and
a half, and that now no one who knows her would speak of her
without the most profound respect, proves two things—that there
may be heroism of the highest order in American women—and
that American armies are not to be judged of, by the recorded
statements concerning European ones.
Her first tentative efforts at going to the field were cautious and
beset with difficulties. Through the long Peninsula campaign as
each transport brought its load of suffering men, with the mud
of the Chickahominy and the gore of battle baked hard upon
them like the shells of turtles, she went down each day to the
wharves with an ambulance laden with dressings and restoratives,
and there amid the turmoil and dirt, and under the torrid sun of
Washington, toiled day by day, alleviating such suffering as she
could. And when the steamers turned their prows down the
river, she looked wistfully after them, longing to go to those dread
shores whence all this misery came. But she was alone and un-
known, and how could she get the means and the permission to
go? The military authorities were overworked in those days and
plagued with unreasonable applications, and as a class are not
very indulgent to unusual requests. The first officer of rank who
gave
her
answer was a man who never gave an unkind
reply without great provocation—Dr. R. H. Coolidge, Medical
Inspector. Through him a pass was obtained from Surgeon-
General Hammond, and she was referred to Major Rucker, Quar-
a kind

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
119
must go
termaster, for transportation. The Major listened to her story so
patiently and kindly that she was overcome, and sat down and
wept. It was then too late in the season to go to McClellan's
army, so she loaded a railroad car with supplies and started for
Culpepper Court-House, then crowded with the wounded from
the battle of Cedar Mountain. With a similar car-load she was
the first of the volunteer aid that reached Fairfax Station at the
close of the disastrous days that culminated in the second Bull
Run, and the battle of Chantilly. On these two expeditions, and
one to Fredericksburg, Miss Barton was accompanied by friends,
at least one gentleman and a lady in each case, but at last a time
came, when through the absence or engagements of these, sho
alone or not at all.
On Sunday, the 14th of September, 1862, she loaded an army
wagon with supplies and started to follow the march of General
McClellan. Her only companions were Mr. Cornelius M. Welles,
the teacher of the first contraband school in the District of Colum-
bia-a young
of rare talent and devotion—and one teamster
She travelled three days along the dusty roads of Maryland,
buying bread as she went to the extent of her means of convey-
ance, and sleeping in the wagon by night. After dark, on the
night of the sixteenth, she reached Burnside's Corps, and found
the two armies lying face to face along the opposing ridges of hills
that bound the valley of the Antietam. There had already been
heavy skirmishing far away on the right where Hooker had
forded the creek and taken position on the opposite hills; and
the air was dark and thick with fog and exhalations, with the
smoke of camp-fires and premonitory death. There was little
sleep that night, and as the morning sun rose bright and beautiful
over the Blue Ridge and dipped down into the Valley, the firing
on the right was resumed. Reinforcements soon began to move
along the rear to Hooker's support. Thinking the place of dan-
ger was the place of duty, Miss Barton ordered her mules t be
harnessed and took her place in the swift train of artillery ihat
man

120
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
was passing. On reaching the scene of action, they turned into
a field of tall corn, and drove through it to a large barn. They
were close upon the line of battle; the rebel shot and shell flew
thickly around and oyer them; and in the barn-yard and among
the corn lay torn and bleeding men— the worst cases —just
brought from the places where they had fallen. The army medi-
cal supplies had not yet arrived, the small stock of dressings was
exhausted, and the surgeons were trying to make bandages of
corn-husks. Miss Barton opened to them her stock of dressings,
and proceeded with her companions to distribute bread steeped in
wine to the wounded and fainting. In the course of the day she
picked up twenty-five men who had come to the rear with the
wounded, and set them to work administering restoratives, bring-
ing and applying water, lifting men to easier positions, stopping
hemorrhages, etc., etc. At length her bread was all spent; but
luckily a part of the liquors she had brought were found to have
been packed in meal, which suggested the idea of making gruel.
A farm-house was found connected with the barn, and on search-
ing the cellar, she discovered three barrels of flour, and a bag
of salt, which the rebels had hidden the day before. Kettles
were found about the house, and she prepared to make gruel on a
large scale, which was carried in buckets and distributed along
the line for miles. On the ample piazza of the house were ranged
the operating tables, where the surgeons performed their oper
tions; and on that piazza she kept her place from the forenoon
till nightfall, mixing gruel and directing her assistants, under the
fire of one of the greatest and fiercest battles of modern times.
Before night her face was as black as a negro's, and her lips and
throat parched with the sulphurous smoke of battle. But night
came at last, and the wearied armies lay down on the ground to
rest; and the dead and wounded lay everywhere. Darkness too
had its terrors, and as the night closed in, the surgeon in charge
at the old farm-house, Boked despairingly at a bit of candle and
said it was the only one on the place; and no one could stir till

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
121
morning. A thousand men dangerously wounded and suffering
terribly from thirst lay around, and many must die before the light
of another day. It was a fearful thing to die alone and in the
dark, and no one could move among the wounded, for fear of
stumbling over them. Miss Barton replied, that, profiting by
her experience at Chantilly, she had brought with her thirty lan-
terns, and an abundance of candles. It was worth a journey to
Antietam, to light the gloom of that night. On the morrow, the
fighting had ceased, but the work of caring for the wounded was
resumed and continued all day. On the third day the regular
supplies arrived, and Miss Barton having exhausted her small
stores, and finding that continued fatigue and watching were
bringing on a fever, turned her course towards Washington. It
was with difficulty that she was able to reach home, where she
was confined to her bed for some time. When she recovered suffi-
ciently to call on Colonel Rucker, and told him that with five
wagons she could have taken supplies sufficient for the immediate
wants of all the wounded in the battle, that officer shed tears, and
charged her to ask for enough next time.
It was about the 23d of October, when another great battle
was expected, that she next set out with a well appointed and
heavily laden train of six wagons and an ambulance, with seven
teamsters, and thirty-eight mules. The men were rough fellows,
little used or disposed to be commanded by a woman; and they
mutinied when they had gone but a few miles. A plain state-
ment of the course she should pursue in case of insubordination,
induced them to proceed and confine themselves, for the time
being, to imprecations and grumbling. When she overtook the
army, it was crossing the Potomac, below Harper's Ferry. Her
men refused to cross. She offered them the alternative to go
forward peaceably, or to be dismissed and replaced by soldiers.
They chose the former, and from that day forward were all obedi-
ence, fidelity and usefulness. The expected battle was not fought,
but
gave place to a race for Richmond. The Army of the Poto-
16

122
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
mac had the advantage in regard to distance, keeping for a time
along the base of the Blue Ridge, while the enemy followed the
course of the Shenandoah. There was naturally a skirmish at
every gap. The rebels were generally the first to gain possession
of the pass, from which they would attempt to surprise some
part of the army that was passing, and capture a portion of our
supply trains. Thus every day brought a battle or a skirmish,
and its accession to the list of sick and wounded; and for a period
of about three weeks, until Warrenton Junction was reached, the
national
army had no base of operations, nor any reinforcements
or supplies. The sick had to be carried all that time over the
rough roads in wagons or ambulances. Miss Barton with her
wagon train accompanied the Ninth Army Corps, as a general
purveyor for the sick. Her original supply of comforts was very
considerable, and her men contrived to add to it every day such
fresh provisions as could be gathered from the country. At each
night's encampment, they lighted their fires and prepared fresh
food and necessaries for the moving hospital. Through all that
long and painful march from Harper's Ferry to Fredericksburg,
those wagons constituted the hospital larder and kitchen for all
the sick within reach.
It will be remembered that after Burnside assumed command
of the Army of the Potomac, the route by Fredericksburg was
selected, and the march was conducted down the left bank of the
Rappahannock to a position opposite that city. From Warrenton
Junction Miss Barton made a visit to Washington, while her
wagons kept on with the army, which she rejoined with fresh
supplies at Falmouth. She remained in camp until after the
uusuccessful attack on the works behind Fredericksburg. She
was on the bank of the river in front of the Lacy House, within
easy rifle shot range of the enemy, at the time of the attack of
the 11th December-witnessed the unavailing attempts to lay
pontoon bridges directly into the city, and the heroic crossing of
the 19th and 20th Massachusetts Regiments and the 7th Michi-

CLARA HARLOWE BARTIN.
123
gan. During the brief occupation of the city she remained in it,
organizing the hospital kitchens; and after the withdrawal of the
troops, she established a private kitchen for supplying delicacies
to the wounded. Although it was now winter and the weather
inclement, she occupied an old tent while her train was encamped
around; and the cooking was performed in the open air.
air. When
the wounded from the attack on the rebel batteries were recovered
by flag of truce, fifty of them were brought to her camp at night.
They had lain several days in the cold, and were wounded, fam-
ished and frozen. She had the snow cleaned away, large fires
built and the men wrapped in blankets. An old chimney was
torn down, the bricks heated in the fire, and placed around them.
As she believed that wounded men, exhausted and depressed by
the loss of blood, required stimulants, and as Surgeon-General
Hammond, with characteristic liberality had given her one hun-
dred and thirty gallons of confiscated liquor, she gave them with
warm food, enough strong hot toddy to make them all measurably
drunk. The result was that they slept comfortably until morn-
ing, when the medical officers took them in charge. It was her
practice to administer a similar draught to each patient on his
leaving for Acquia Creek, en route to the Washington hospitals.
A circumstance which occurred during the battle of Fredericks-
burg, will illustrate very strikingly the courage of Miss Barton,
a courage which has never faltered in the presence of danger,
when what she believed to be duty called. In the skirmishing
of the 12th of December, the day preceding the great and disas-
trous battle, a part of the Union troops had crossed over to
Fredericksburg, and after a brief fight had driven back a body
of rebels, wounding and capturing a number of them whom they
sent as prisoners across the river to Falmouth, where Miss Barton
as yet had her camp. The wounded rebels were brought to her
for care and treatment. Among them was a young officer, mor-
tally wounded by a shot in the thigh. Though she could not
save his life, she ministered to him as well as she could, partially

124
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
staunching his wound, quenching his raging thirst, and endeavor-
ing to make his condition as comfortable as possible. Just at this
time, an orderly arrived with a message from the Medical
Director of the Ninth Army Corps requesting her to come over
to Fredericksburg, and organize the hospitals and diet kitchens
for the corps. The wounded rebel officer heard the request, and
beckoning to her, for he was too weak to speak aloud, he whis-
pered a request that she would not go. She replied that she
must do so; that her duty to the corps to which she was attached
required it. "Lady,” replied the wounded rebel, “you have been
very
kind to me. You could not save my life, but you have
endeavored to render death easy. I owe it to you to tell you
what a few hours ago I would have died sooner than have
revealed. The whole arrangement of the Confederate troops and
artillery is intended as a trap for your people. Every street and
lane of the city is covered by our cannon. They are now con-
cealed, and do not reply to the bombardment of your army,
because they wish to entice you across.
.
When your entire army
has reached the other side of the Rappahannock and attempts to
move along the streets, they will find Fredericksburg only a
slaughter pen, and not a regiment of them will be allowed to
escape. Do not go over, for you will go to certain death!” While
her tender sensibilities prevented her from adding to the suffering
of the dying man, by not apparently heeding his warning, Miss
Barton did not on account of it forego for an instant her intention
of sharing the fortunes of the Ninth Corps on the other side of
the river. The poor fellow was almost gone, and waiting only to
close his eyes on all earthly objects, she crossed on the frail
bridge, and was welcomed with cheers by the Ninth Corps, who
looked upon her as their guardian angel. She remained with
them until the evening of their masterly retreat, and until the
wounded men of the corps in the hospitals were all safely across.
While she was in Fredericksburg, after the battle of the 13th,
bone soldiers of the corps who had been roving about the city,

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
125
came to her quarters bringing with great difficulty a large and
very costly and elegant carpet. “What is this for?” asked Miss
Bartun. “It is for you, ma'am,” said one of the soldiers; "you
have been so good to us, that we wanted to bring you something."
“Where did you get it?" she asked. “Oh! ma'am, we confis.
cated it,” said the soldiers. “No! no!” said the lady; "that
will never do. Governments confiscate. Soldiers when they
take such things, steal. I am afraid, my men, you will have to
take it back to the house from which you took it. I can't receive
a stolen carpet.” The men looked sheepish enough, but they
shouldered the carpet and carried it back. In the wearisome
weeks that followed the Fredericksburg disaster, when there was
not the excitement of a coming battle, and the wounded whether
detained in the hospitals around Falmouth or forwarded through
the deep mud to the hospital transports on the Potomac, still with
saddened countenances and depressed spirits looked forward to a
dreary future, Miss Barton toiled on, infusing hope and cheer-
fulness into sad hearts, and bringing the consolations of religion
to her aid, pointed them to the only true source of hope and
comfort.
In the early days of April, 1863, Miss Barton went to the
South with the expectation of being present at the combined land
and naval attack on Charleston. She reached the wharf at
Hilton Head on the afternoon of the 7th, in time to hear the
crack of Sumter's guns as they opened in broadside on Dupont's
fleet That memorable assault accomplished nothing unless it
migl.t be to ascertain that Charleston could not be taken by
water. The expedition returned to Hilton Head, and a period
of inactivity followed, enlivened only by unimportant raids, news-
paper correspondence, and the small quai rels that naturally arise
in an unemployed army.
Later in the season Miss Barton accompanied the Gilmore
and Dahlgren expedition, and was present at nearly all the mili-
tary operations on James, Folly, and Morris Islands. The

126
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
ground occupied on the latter by the army, during the long siege
of Fort Wagner, was the low sand-hills forming the sea-board or
the Island. No tree, shrub, or weed grew there; and the only
shelter was light tents without floors. The light sand that
yielded to the tread, the walker sinking to the ankles at almost
every step, glistened in the sun, and burned the feet like particles
of fire, and as the ocean winds swept it, it darkened the air and
filled the eyes and nostrils. There was no defense against it, and
every wound speedily became covered with a concrete of gore and
sand. Tent pins would not hold in the treacherous sand, every
vigorous blast from the sea, overturned the tents, leaving the
occupants exposed to the storm or the torrid sun. It was here,
under the fire of the heaviest of the rebel batteries, that Miss
Barton spent the most trying part of the summer.
Her employ-
ment was, with three or four men detailed to assist her, to boil
water in the lee of a sand-hill, to wash the wounds of the men
who were daily struck by rebel shot, to prepare tea and coffee,
and various dishes made from dried fruits, farina, and desiccated
milk and eggs. On the 19th of July, when the great night
assault was made on Wagner, and everybody expected to find
rest and refreshments within the rebel fortress, she alone, so far
as I can learn, kept up her fires and preparations. She alone had
anything suitable to offer the wounded and exhausted men who
streamed back from the repulse, and covered the sand-hills like a
flight of locusts.
Through all the long bombardment that followed, until Sumter
was reduced, and Wagner and Gregg was ours, amid the scorching
sun and the prevalence of prostrating diseases, though herself
more than once struck down with illness, she remained at her
post, a most fearless and efficient co-worker with the indefatigable
agent of the Sanitary Commission, Dr. M. M. Marsh, in saving
the lives and promoting the health of the soldiers of the Union
army. “How could you,” said a friend to her subsequently,
“how could you expose your life and health to that deadly

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
127
neat?” “Why,” she answered, evidently without a thought of
the heroism of the answer, “the other ladies thought they could
not endure the climate, and as I knew somebody must take care
of the soldiers, I went.”
In January, 1864, Miss Barton returned to the North, and
after spending four or five weeks in visiting her friends and
recruiting her wasted strength, again took up her position at
Washington, and commenced making preparations for the coming
campaign which from observation, she was convinced would be
the fiercest and most destructive of human life of any of the war.
.
The first week of the campaign found her at the secondary base
of the army at Belle Plain, and thence with the great army of the
wounded she moved to Fredericksburg. Extensive as had been
her preparations, and wide as were the circle of friends who had
entrusted to her the means of solace and healing, the slaughter
had been so terrific that she found her supplies nearly exhausted,
and for the first time during the war was compelled to appeal for
further supplies to her friends at the North, expending in the
meantime freely, as she had done all along, of her own private
means for the succor of the poor wounded soldiers. Moving on
to Port Royal, and thence to the James River, she presently
became attached to the Army of the James, where General Butler,
at the instance of his Chief Medical Director, Surgeon McCormick,
acknowledging her past services, and appreciating her abilities,
gave her a recognized position, which greatly enhanced her use-
fulness, and enabled her, with her energetic nature, to contribute
as much to the welfare and comfort of the army in that year, as
she had been able to do in all her previous connection with it.
In January, 1865, she returned to Washington, where she was
detained from the front for nearly two months by the illness and
death of a brother and nephew, and did not again join the army
in the field.
By this time, of course, she was very generally known, and
the circle of her correspondence was wide. Her influence in high

128
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
official quarters was supposed to be considerable, and she was in
the daily receipt of inquiries and applications of various kinds, in
particular in regard to the fate of men believed to have been coni-
fined in Southern prisons. The great number of letters received
of this class, led her to decide to spend some months at Annapolis,
among
the
camps and records of paroled and exchanged prisoners,
for the purpose of answering the inquiries of friends. Her plan
of operation was approved by President Lincoln, March 11, 1865,
and notice of her appointment as “General Correspondent for the
friends of Paroled Prisoners," was published in the newspapers
extensively, bringing in a torrent of inquiries and letters from
wives, parents, State officials, agencies, the Sanitary Commission
and the Christian Commission. On reaching Annapolis, she en-
countered obstacles that were vexatious, time-wasting, and in fact,
insupportable. Without rank, rights or authority credited by
law, the officials there were at a loss how to receive her. The
town was so crowded that she could find no private lodgings, and
had to force herself as a scarce welcome guest upon some one for
a few days, while her baggage stood out in the snow. Nearly
two months were consumed in negotiations before an order was
obtained from the War Department to the effect that the military
authorities at Annapolis might allow her the use of a tent, and its
furniture, and a moderate supply of postage stamps. This was
not mandatory, but permissive; and negotiations could now be
opened with the gentlemen at Annapolis. In the meantime the
President had been assassinated, Richmond taken, and Lee's army
surrendered. The rebellion was breaking away. All prisoners
were to be released from parole, and sent home, and nothing
would remain at Annapolis but the records. Unfortunately these
proved to be of very little service--but a small per centage of
those inquired for, were found on the rolls, and obviously these,
for the most part, were not men who had been lost, but who had
returned. She was also informed, on good authority, that a large
number of prisoners had been exchanged without roll or record.

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
129
and that some rolls were so fraudulent and incorrect, as to be
worthless. Poor wretches in the rebel pens seemed even to forget
the names their mother called them. The Annapolis scheme was
therefore abandoned, with mortification that thousands of letters
had lain so long unanswered, that thousands of anxious friends
were daily waiting for tidings of their loved and lost. The pathos
and simplicity of these letters was often touching. An old man
writes that he has two sons and three grandsons in the army, and
of two of the five he could get no tidings. Another says she
knew her son was brave, and if he died, he died honorably. He
was all she had and she gave him freely to the country. If he be
really lost she will not repine; but she feels she has a right to be
told what became of him. Many of the writers seemed to have a
very primitive idea of the way information was to be picked up.
They imagined that Miss Barton was to walk through all hos-
pitals, camps, armies and prisons, and narrowly scrutinizing every
face, would be able to identify the lost boy by the descriptions
given her. Hence the fond mother minutely described her boy
as he remained graven on her memory on the day of his departure.
The result of these delays was the organization, by Miss Barton,
at her own cost, of a Bureau of Records of Missing Men of the
Armies of the United States, at Washington. Here she collected
all rolls of prisoners, hospital records, and records of burials in
the rebel prisons and elsewhere, and at short intervals published
Rolls of Missing Men, which, by the franks of some of her frinds
among the Members of Congress, were sent to all parts of the
United States, and posted in prominent places, and in many
instances copied into local papers. The method a lopted for the
discovery of information concerning these missing men, and the
communication of that information to their friends who had made
inquiries concerning them may be thus illustrated.
A Mrs. James of Kennebunk, Maine, has seen a notice in the
paper that Miss Clara Barton of Washington will receive inqui-
ries from friends of “missing men of the Army,” and will en-
17

130
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
deavor to obtain information for them without fee or reward.
She forth with writes to Miss Barton that she is anxious to gain
tidings of her husband, Eli James, Sergeant Company F. Fourth
Maine Infantry, who has not been heard of since the battle of
This letter, when received, is immediately acknow-
ledged, registered in a book, endorsed and filed away for conve-
nient reference. The answer satisfied Mrs. James for the time,
that her letter was not lost and that some attention is given to
her inquiry. If the fate of Sergeant James is known or can be
learned from the official rolls the information is sent at once.
Otherwise the case lies over until there are enough to form a roll,
which will probably be within a few weeks. A roll of Missing
Men is then made up-with an appeal for information respecting
them, of which from twenty thousand to thirty thousand copies
are printed to be posted all over the United States, in all places
where soldiers are most likely to congregate. It is not impos-
sible, that in say two weeks' time, one James Miller, of Keokuk,
Iowa, writes that he has seen the name of his friend James
posted for information; that he found him lying on the ground,
at the battle of mortally wounded with a fragment of
shell; that he, James, gave the writer a few articles from about
his person, and a brief message to his wife and children, whom
he is now unable to find; that the national troops fell back from
that portion of the field leaving the dead within the enemy's
lines, who consequently were never reported. When this letter
is received it is also registered in a book, endorsed and filed, and
a summary of its contents is sent to Mrs. James, with the inti-
mation that further particulars of interest to her can be learned
by addressing James Miller, of Keokuk, Iowa.
Soon after entering fully upon this work in Washington, and
having obtained the rolls of the prison hospitals of Wilmington,
Salisbury, Florence, Charleston, and other Rebel prisons of the
South, Miss Barton ascertained that Dorrance Atwater, a young
Connecticut soldier, who had been a prisoner at Andersonville,

CLARA HARLOWE BARTON.
131
Georgia, had succeeded in obtaining a copy of all the records of
interments in that field of death, during his employment in the
hospital there, and that he could identify the graves of most of
the thirteen thousand who had died there the victims of Rebel
cruelty.
Atwater was induced to permit Government officers to copy
his roll, and on the representation of Miss Barton that no time
should be lost in putting up head-boards to the graves of the
Union Soldiers, Captain James M. Moore, Assistant Quarter-
master, was ordered to proceed to Andersonville with young
Atwater and a suitable force, to lay out the grounds as a cemetery
and place head-boards to the graves; and Miss Barton was re-
quested by the Secretary of War to accompany him. She did so,
and ide grounds were laid out and fenced, and all the graves
except about four hundred which could not be identified were
marked with suitable head-boards. On their return, Miss Barton
resumed her duties, and Captain Moore caused Atwater's arrest
on the charge of having stolen from the Government the list he
had loaned them for copying, and after a hasty trial by Court-
Martial, he was sentenced to be imprisoned in the Auburn State
Prison for two years and six months. The sentence was imme-
diately carried into effect.
Miss Barton felt that this whole charge, trial and sentence, was
grossly unjust; that Atwater had committed no crime, not even
a technical one, and that he ought to be relieved from imprison-
ment. She accordingly exerted herself to have the case brought
before the President. This was done; and in part through the
influence of General Benjamin F. Butler, an order was sent on to
the Warden of the Auburn Prison to set the prisoner at liberty.
Atwater subsequently published his roll of the Andersonville dead,
to which Miss Barton prefixed a narrative of the expedition to
Andersonville. Her Bureau had by this time become an institu-
tion of great and indispensable importance not only to the friends
of missing men but to the Sanitany Commission, and to the Gov-

32
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
ernment itself, which could not without daily and almost hourly
reference to her records settle the accounts for bounties, back pay,
and pensions. Thus far, however, it had been sustained wholly
at her own cost, and in this and other labors for the soldiers she
had expended her entire private fortune of eight or ten thousand
dollars. Soon after the assembling of Congress, Hon. Henry
Wilson, of Massachusetts, who had always been her firm friend,
moved an appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars to remunerate
her for past expenditure, and enable her to maintain the Bureau
of Records of Missing Men, which had proved of such service.
To the honor of Congress it should be said, that the appropriation
passed both houses by a unanimous vote. Miss Barton still con-
tinues her good work, and has been instrumental in sending
certainty if not solace to thousands of families, who mourned
their loved ones as lying in unknown graves.
In person Miss Barton is about of medium height, her form
and figure indicating great powers of endurance. Though not
technically beautiful, her dark expressive eye is attractive, and
she possesses, evidently unconsciously to herself, great powers of
fascination. Her voice is soft, low, and of extraordinary sweet-
ness of tone. As we have said she is modest, quiet and retiring
in manner, and is extremely reticent in speaking of anything she
has done, while she is ever ready to bestow the full meed of praise
on the labors of others. Her devotion to her work has been
remarkable, and her organizing abilities are unsurpassed among
her own sex and equalled by very few among the other. She is
still young, and with her power and disposition for usefulness is
destined we hope to prove greatly serviceable to the country she
80 ardently loves.

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
M
ISS HELEN LOUISE GILSON is a native of Boston,
but removed in childhood to Chelsea, Massachusetts,
where she now resides. She is a niece of Hon. Frank
B. Fay, former Mayor of Chelsea, and was his ward.
Mr. Fay, from the commencement of the war took the most active
interest in the National cause, devoting his time, his wealth and
his personal efforts to the welfare of the soldiers. In the autumn
of 1861 he went in person to the seat of war, and from that time
forward, in every battle in which the Army of the Potomac was
engaged, he was promptly upon the field with his stores and
appliances of healing, and moved gently though rapidly among
the dead and wounded, soothing helpless, suffering and bleeding
men parched with fever, crazed with thirst, or lying neglected in
the last agonies of death. After two years of this independent
work performed when as yet the Sanitary Commission had no
field agencies, and did not attempt to minister to the suffering
and wounded until they had come under the hands of the sur-
geons, Mr. Fay laid before the Sanitary Commission, in the
winter of 1863-4, his plans for an Auxiliary Relief Cups, to
afford personal relief in the field, to the wounded soldier, and
render him such assistance, as should enable him to bear with less
injury the delay which must ensue before he could come under
the surgeon's care or be transferred to a hospital, and in cases of
the slighter wounds furnish the necessary dressings and attention.
133

134
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The Sanitary Commission at once adopted these plans and made
Mr. Fay chief of the Auxiliary Relief Corps. In this capacity
he performed an amount of labor of which few men were capable,
till December, 1864, when he retired from it but continued his
independent work till the close of the war. During his visits
at home he was active in organizing and directing measures for
raising supplies and money for the Sanitary Commission and the
independent measures of relief.
Influenced by such an example of lofty and self-sacrificing
patriotism, and with her own young heart on fire with love for
her country, Miss Gilson from the very commencement of the
war, gave herself to the work of caring for the soldiers, first at
home, and afterward in the field. In that glorious uprising of
American women, all over the North, in the spring of 1861, to
organize Soldiers' Aid Societies she was active and among the
foremost in her own city. She had helped to prepare and collect
supplies, and to arrange them for transportation. She had also
obtained a contract for the manufacture of army clothing, from
the Government, by means of which she provided employment
for soldiers' wives and daughters, raising among the benevolent
and patriotic people of Chelsea and vicinity, a fund which enabled
her to pay a far more liberal sum than the contractors' prices, for
this labor.
When Mr. Fay commenced his personal services with the Army
of the Potomác, Miss Gilson, wishing to accompany him, applied
to Miss D. L. Dix, Government Superintendent of Female Nurses,
for a diploma, but as she had not reached the required age she
was rejected. This, however, did not prevent her from fulfilling
her ardent desire of ministering to the sick and wounded, but
served in a measure to limit her to services upon the field, where
she could act in concert with Mr. Fay, or otherwise under the
direction of the Sanitary Commission.
During nearly the whole term of Miss Gilson's service she was
in company with Mr. Fay and his assistants. The party had

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
135
their own tent, forming a household, and carrying with them
something of home-life.
In this manner she, with her associates, followed the Army of
the Potomac, through its various vicissitudes, and was present at,
or near, almost every one of its great battles except the first battle
of Bull Run.
In the summer of 1862 Miss Gilson was for some time attached
to the Hospital Transport service, and was on board the Knicker-
bocker when up the Pamunky River at White House, and after-
ward at Harrison's Landing during the severe battles which
marked McClellan's movement from the Chickahominy to the
James River. Amidst the terrible scenes of those eventful days,
the quiet energy, the wonderful comforting and soothing power,
and the perfect adaptability of Miss Gilson to her work were con-
spicuous.
Whatever she did was done well, and so noiselessly that only
the results were seen. When not more actively employed she
would sit by the bed-sides of the suffering men, and charm away
their pain by the magnetism of her low, calm voice, and soothing
words. She sang for them, and, kneeling beside them, where
they lay amidst all the agonizing sights and sounds of the hos-
pital wards, and even upon the field of carnage, her voice would
ascend in petition, for peace, for relief, for sustaining grace in the
brief journey to the other world, carrying with it their souls into
the realms of an exalted faith.
As may be supposed, Miss Gilson exerted a remarkable per-
sonal influence over the wounded soldiers as well as all those
with whom she was brought in contact. She always shrank from
notoriety, and strongly deprecated any publicity in regard to her
work; but the thousands who witnessed her extraordinary ac-
tivity, her remarkable executive power, her ability in evoking
order out of chaos, and providing for thousands of sick and
wounded men where most persons would have been completely
overwhelmed in the care of scores or hundreds, could not always

136
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
be prevented from speaking of her in the public prints. The
uniform cheerfulness and buoyancy of spirit with which all her
work was performed, added greatly to its efficiency in removing
the depressing influences, so common in the hospitals and among
the wounded.
From some of the reports of agents of the Sanitary Commis-
sion we select the following passages referring to her, as express-
ing in more moderate language than some others, the sentiments
in regard to her work entertained by all who were brought into
contact with her.
“Upon Miss Gilson's services, we scarcely dare trust ourselves
to comment. Upon her experience we relied for counsel, and it
was chiefly due to her advice and efforts, that the work in our
hospital went on so successfully. Always quiet, self-possessed,
and prompt in the discharge of duty, she accomplished more than
any one else could for the relief of the wounded, besides being a
constant example and embodiment of earnestness for all. Her
ministrations were always grateful to the wounded men, who de-
votedly loved her for her self-sacrificing spirit. Said one of the
Fifth New Jersey in our hearing, “There isn't a man in our regi-
ment who wouldn't lay down his life for Miss Gilson.'
“We have seen the dying man lean his head upon her shoulder,
while she breathed into his ear the soothing prayer that calmed,
cheered and prepared him for his journey through the dark
valley.
“ Under the direction of Miss Gilson, the special diet was pre-
pared, and we cannot strongly enough express our sense of the
invaluable service she rendered in this department. The food
was always eagerly expected and relished by the men, with many
expressions of praise.”
After the battle of Gettysburg Mr. Fay and his party went
thither on their mission of help and mercy. And never was such
a mission more needed. Crowded within the limits, and in the
immediate vicinity, of that small country-town, were twenty-five

HELEN LOUISE GILSCN.
137
thousand wounded men, thirteen thousand seven hundred and
thirteen of our own, and nearly twelve thousand wounded rebel
prisoners. The Government in anticipation of the battle had
provided medical and surgical supplies and attendance for about
ten thousand. Had not the Sanitary Commission supplemented
this supply, and sent efficient agents to the field, the loss of life,
and the amount of suffering, terrible as they were with the best
appliances, must have been almost incredibly great.
Here as elsewhere Miss Gilson soon made a favorable impres-
sion on the wounded men. They looked up to her, reverenced
and almost worshipped her. She had their entire confidence and
respect. Even the roughest of them yielded to her influence and
obeyed her wishes, which were always made known in a gentle
manner and in a voice peculiarly low and sweet.
It has been recorded by one who knew her well, that she once
stepped out of her tent, before which a group of brutal men were
fiercely quarrelling, having refused, with oaths and vile language,
to carry a sick comrade to the hospital at the request of one of
the male agents of the Commission, and quietly advancing to
their midst, renewed the request as her own. Immediately every
angry tone was stilled. Their voices were lowered, and modu-
lated respectfully. Their oaths ceased, and quietly and cheer-
fully, without a word of objection, they lifted their helpless
burden, and tenderly carried him away.
At the same time she was as efficient in action as in influence.
Without bustle, and with unmoved calmness, she would superin-
tend the preparation of food for a thousand men, and assist in
feeding them herself. Just so she moved amidst the flying
bullets upon the field, bringing succor to the wounded; or
through the hospitals amidst the pestilent air of the fever-stricken
wards. Self-controlled, she could control others, and order and
gymmetry sprung up before her as a natural result of the
opera-
tion of a well-balanced mind.
In all her journies Miss Gilson made use of the opportunities
18

138
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
afforded her wherever she stopped to plead the cause of the
soldier to the people, who readily assembled at her suggestion.
She thus stimulated energies that might otherwise have flagged,
and helped to swell the supplies continually pouring in to the
depots of the Sanitary Commission. But Miss Gilson's crowning
work was performed during that last protracted campaign of
General Grant from the Rapidan to Petersburg and the Appo-
mattox, a campaign which by almost a year of constant fighting
finished the most terrible and destructive war of modern times.
She had taken the field with Mr. Fay at the very commence-
ment of the campaign, and had been indefatigable in her efforts
to relieve what she could of the fearful suffering of those de-
structive battles of May, 1864, in which the dead and wounded
were numbered by scores of thousands.
To how many poor
sufferers she brought relief from the raging thirst and the racking
agony of their wounds, to how many aching hearts her words of
cheer and her sweet songs bore comfort and hope, to how many
of those on whose countenances the Angel of death had already
set his seal, she whispered of a dying and risen Saviour, and of
the mansions prepared for them that love him, will never be
known till the judgment of the great day; but this we know,
that thousands now living speak with an almost rapturous enthu-
siasm, of "the little lady who in their hours of agony,
ministered
to them with such sweetness, and never seemed to weary of
serving them.”
A young physician in the service of the Sanitary Commission,
Dr. William Howell Reed, who was afterwards for many months
associated with her and Mr. Fay in their labors of auxiliary relief,
thus describes his first opportunity of observing her work.
It
was at Fredericksburg in May, 1864, when that town was for a
time the base of the Army of the Potomac, and the place to which
the wounded were brought for treatnient before being sent to the
hospitals at Washington and Baltimore. The building used as a
hospital, and which she visited was the mansion of John L. Marie,

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
138
a large building, but much of it in ruins from the previous bom-
bardment of the city. It was crowded with wounded in every
part. Dr. Reed says:-
“One afternoon, just before the evacuation, when the atmos-
phere of our rooms was close and foul, and all were longing for a
breath of our cooler northern air, while the men were moaning in
pain, or were restless with fever, and our hearts were sick with
pity for the sufferers, I heard a light step upon the stairs; and
looking up I saw a young lady enter, who brought with her such
an atmosphere of calm and cheerful courage, so much freshness,
such an expression of gentle, womanly sympathy, that her mere
presence seemed to revive the drooping spirits of the men, and to
give a new power of endurance through the long and painful
hours of suffering. First with one, then at the side of another,
a friendly word here, a gentle nod and smile there, a tender sym-
pathy with each prostrate sufferer, a sympathy which could read
in his eyes his longing for home love, and for the presence of
some absent one—in those few minutes hers was indeed an angel
ministry. Before she left the room she sang to them, first some
stirring national melody, then some sweet or plaintive hymn to
strengthen the fainting heart; and I remember how the nutes
penetrated to every part of the building. Soldiers with less
severe wounds, from the rooms above, began to crawl out into the
entries, and men from below crept up on their hands and knees,
to catch every note, and to receive of the benediction of her
presence—for such it was to them. Then she went away. I dia
not know who she was, but I was as much moved and melted as
any soldier of them all. This is my first reminiscence of Helen
L. Gilson."
Thus far Miss Gilson's cares and labors had been bestowed
almost exclusively on the white soldiers; but the time approached
when she was to devote herself to the work of creating a model
hospital for the colored soldiers who now formed a considerable
body of troops in the Army of the Potomac. She was deeply

140
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
interested in the struggle of the African race upward into the
new life which seemed opening for them, and her efforts for the
mental and moral elevation of the freedmen and their families
were eminently deserving of record.
Dr. Reed relates how, as they were passing down the Rappa-
hannock and up the York and Pamunky rivers to the new tem-
porary base of the army at Port Royal, they found a govern-
ment barge which had been appropriated to the use of the “con-
trabands,” of whom about a thousand were stowed away upon it,
of all ages and both sexes, all escaped from their former masters
in that part of Virginia. The hospital party heard them singing
the
negroes' evening hymn, and taking a boat from the steamer
rowed to the barge, and after a little conversation persuaded them
to renew their song, which was delivered with all the fervor,
emotion and abandon of the negro character.
When their song had ceased, Miss Gilson addressed them. She
pictured the reality of freedom, told them what it meant and what
they would have to do, no longer would there be a master to deal
out the peck of corn, no longer a mistress to care for the old
people or the children. They were to work for themselves,
provide for their own sick, and support their own infirm; but all
this was to be done under new conditions. No overseer was to
stand over them with the whip, for their new master was the
necessity of earning their daily bread. Very soon new and higher
motives would come; fresh encouragements, a nobler ambition,
would grow into their new condition. Then in the simplest
language she explained the difference between their former rela-
tions with the then master and their new relations with the north-
ern people, showing that labor here was voluntary, and that they
could only expect to secure kind employers by faithfully doing
all they had to do. Then, enforcing truthfulness, neatness, and
economy, she said, -
6. You know that the Lord Jesus died and rose again for you.
You love to sing his praise and to draw near to him in prayer.

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
141
But remember that this is not all of religion. You must do
right as well as pray right. Your lives must be full of kind
deeds towards each other, full of gentle and loving affections, full
of unselfishness and truth: this is true piety. You must make
Munday and Tuesday just as good and pure as Sunday is, remem-
bering that God looks not only at your prayers and your emotions,
but at the way you live, and speak, and act, every hour of
lives.”
Then she sang Whittier's exquisite hymn :-
your
“O, praise an' tanks, -the Lord he come
To set de people free;
An' massa tink it day ob doom,
An' we ob jubilee.
De Lord dat heap de Red Sea wabes,
He just as 'trong as den;
He say de word, we last night slabes,
To-day de Lord's free men."
Here were a thousand people breathing their first free air.
They were new born with this delicious sense of freedom. They
listened with moistened eyes to every word which concerned their
future, and felt that its utterance came from a heart which could
embrace them all in its sympathies. Life was to them a jubilee
only so far as they could make it so by a consciousness of duty
faithfully done. They had hard work before them, much priva-
tion, many struggles. They had everything to learn—the new
industries of the North, their changed social condition, and how
to accept their new responsibilities.
As she spoke the circle grew larger, and they pressed round
her more eagerly. It was all a part of their new life. They
welcomed it; and, by every possible expression of gratitude to
her, they showed how desirous they were to learn. Those who
were present can never forget the scene—a thousand dusky faces,
expressive of such fervency and enthusiasm, their large eyes filled
with tears, answering to the throbbing heart below, all dim'y out-

142
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
lined by the flickering rays of a single lamp. And when it was
over, we felt that we could understand our relations to them, and
the new duties which this great hour had brought upon us.
It was not till the sanguinary battles of the 15th, 16th, 17th,
and 18th of June, 1864, that there had been any considerable
number of the colored troops of the Army of the Potomac wounded.
In those engagements however, as well as in the subsequent ones
of the explosion of the mine, and the actions immediately around
Petersburg, they suffered terribly. The wounded were brought
rapidly to City Point, where a temporary hospital had been pro-
vided. We give a description of this hospital in the words of
Dr. Reed, who was associated subsequently with Miss Gilson in
its management.
“It was, in no other sense a hospital, than that it was a depot
for wounded men. There were defective management and chaotic
confusion. The men were neglected, the hospital organization
was imperfect, and the mortality was in consequence frightfully
large. Their condition was horrible. The severity of the cam-
paign in a malarious country had prostrated many with fevers,
and typhoid, in its most malignant forms, was raging with increas-
ing fatality.
“These stories of suffering reached Miss Gilson at a moment
when the previous labors of the campaign had nearly exhausted
her strength; but her duty seemed plain. There were no volun-
teers for the emergency, and she prepared to go. Her friends
declared that she could not survive it; but replying that she
could not die in a cause more sacred, she started out alone. A
hospital was to be created, and this required all the tact, finesse
and diplomacy of which a woman is capable. Official prejudice
and professional pride was to be met and overcome.
policy was to be introduced, and it was to be done without seem-
ing to interfere. Her doctrine and practice always were instant,
silent, and cheerful obedience to medical and disciplinary orders,
A new

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
143
without any qualification whatever; and by this she overcame the
natural sensitiveness of the medical authorities.
“A hospital kitchen was to be organized upon her method of
special diet; nurses were to learn her way, and be educated to
their duties; while cleanliness, order, system, were to be enforced
in the daily routine. Moving quietly on with her work of reno-
vation, she took the responsibility of all changes that became
necessary; and such harmony prevailed in the camp that her
policy was vindicated as time rolled on. The rate of mortality
was lessened, and the hospital was soon considered the best in the
department. This was accomplished by a tact and energy which
sought no praise, but modestly veiled themselves behind the
orders of officials. The management of her kitchen was like the
ticking of a clock-regular discipline, gentle firmness, and sweet
temper always. The diet for the men was changed three times a
day ; and it was her aim to cater as far as possible to the appe-
tites of individual men. Her daily rounds in the wards brought
her into personal intercourse with every patient, and she knew
his special need. At one time, when nine hundred men were
supplied from her kitchen with seven hundred rations daily), I
took down her diet list for one dinner, and give it here in a note,
to show the variety of the articles, and her careful consideration
of the condition of separate men.”
*
*"List of rations in the Colored Hospital at City Point, being a dinner on
Wednesday, April 25th, 1865:-
Roast Beef,
Tomatoes,
Shad,
Теа, ,
Veal Broth,
Coffee,
Stewed Oysters,
Toast,
Beef Tea,
Gruel,
Mashed Potatoes,
Scalded Milk,
Lemonade,
Crackers and Sherry Cobbler,
Apple Jelly,
Roast Apple.
Farina Pudding,
Let it not be supposed that this was an ordinary hospital diet. Although

144
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The following passage from the pen of Harriet Martineau, in
regard to the management of the kitchen at Scutari, by Florence
Nightingale, is true also of those organized by Miss Gilson in
Virginia. The parallel is so close, and the illustration of the
daily administration of this department of her work so vivid, that,
if the circumstances under which it was written were not known,
I should have said it was a faithful picture of our kitchen in the
Colored Hospital at City Point:-
“The very idea of that kitchen was savory in the wards; for
out of it came, at the right moment, arrowroot, hot and of the
pleasantest consistence; rice puddings, neither hard on the one
hand or clammy on the other; cool lemonade for the feverish;
cans full of hot tea for the weary, and good coffee for the faint.
When the sinking sufferer was lying with closed eyes, too feeble
to make moan or sigh, the hospital spoon was put between his
lips, with the mouthful of strong broth or hot wine, which rallied
him till the watchful nurse came round again. The meat from
that kitchen was tenderer than any other, the beef tea was more
savory. One thing that came out of it was the lesson on the
saving of good cookery. The mere circumstance of the boiling
water being really boiling there, made a difference of two ounces
of rice in every four puddings, and of more than half the arrow-
root used. The same quantity of arrowroot which made a pint
thin and poor in the general kitchen. made two pints thick and
good in Miss Nightingale's.
“Again, in contrasting the general kitchen with the light or
special diet prepared for the sicker men, there was all the differ-
ence between having placed before them the cold mutton chop
with its opaque fat, the beef with its caked gravy, the arrowroot
stiff and glazed, all untouched, as might be seen by the bed-sides
such a list was furnished at this time, yet it was only possible while the hos-
pital had an ample base, like City Point. The armies, when operating at a
distance, could give but two or three articles; and in active campaigns these
were furnished with great irregularity.”

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
145
in the afternoons, while the patients were lying back, sinking for
want of support,' and seeing the quick and quiet nurses enter
as the clock struck, with their hot water tins, hot morsels ready
cut, bright knife, and fork, and spoon,—and all ready for instant
eating !
“The nurses looked for Miss Gilson's word of praise, and labored
for it; and she had only to suggest a variety in the decoration of
the tents to stimulate a most honorable rivalry among them,
which soon opened a wide field for displaying ingenuity and
taste, so that not only was its standard the highest, but it was the
most cheerfully picturesque hospital at City Point.
“This colored hospital service was one of those extraordinary
tasks, out of the ordinary course of army hospital discipline, that
none but a woman could execute. It
required more than a man's
power of endurance, for men fainted and fell under the burden.
It required a woman's discernment, a woman's tenderness, a
woman's delicacy and tact; it required such nerve and moral force,
and such executive power, as are rarely united in any woman's
character. The simple grace with which she moved about the
hospital camps, the gentle dignity with which she ministered to
the suffering about her, won all hearts. As she passed through
the wards, the men would follow her with their eyes, attracted by
the grave sweetness of her manner; and when she stopped by
some bed-side, and laid her hand upon the forehead and smoothed
the hair of a soldier, speaking some cheering, pleasant werd, I
have seen the tears gather in his eyes, and his lips quiver, as he
tried to speak or to touch the fold of her dress, as if appealing to
her to listen, while he opened his heart about the mother, wife, or
sister far away. I have seen her in her sober
gray
flannel
gown,
sitting motionless by the dim candle-light,—which was all our
camp could afford,—with her eyes open and watchful, and her
hands ever ready for all those endless wants of sickness at night,
especially sickness that may be tended unto death, or unto the
awful struggle between life and death, which it was the lot of
19

146
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
nearly all of us at some time to keep watch over until the danger
had gone by. And in sadder trials, when the life of a soldier
whom she had watched and ministered to was trembling in the
balance between earth and heaven, waiting for Him to make all
things new, she has seemed, by some special grace of the Spirit, to
reach the living Christ, and draw a blessing down as the shining
way was opened to the tomb. And I have seen such looks of
gratitude from weary eyes, now brightened by visions of heavenly
glory, the last of many recognitions of her ministry. Absorbed
in her work, unconscious of the spiritual beauty which invested
her daily life,-whether in her kitchen, in the heat and over-
crowding incident to the issues of a large special diet list, or sitting
at the cot of some poor lonely soldier, whispering of the higher
realities of another world, she was always the same presence of
grace and love, of peace and benediction. I have been with her
in the wards when the men have craved some simple religious
services,—the reading of Scripture, the repetition of a psalm, the
singing of a hymn, or the offering of a prayer,—and invariably
the men were melted to tears by the touching simplicity of her
eloquence.
“These were the tokens of her ministry among the sickest men;
but it was not here alone that her influence was felt in the hos-
pital. Was there jealousy in the kitchen, her quick penetration
detected the cause, and in her gentle way harmony was restored ;
was there profanity among the convalescents, her daily presence
and kindly admonition or reproof, with an occasional glance
which spoke her sorrow for such sin, were enough to check the
evil; or was there hardship or discontent, the knowledge that she
was sharing the discomfort too, was enough to compel patient
endurance until a remedy could be provided. And so, through
all the war, from the seven days' conflict upon the Peninsula, in
those early July days of 1862, through the campaigns of Antietamı
and Fredericksburg, of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and after
the conflicts of the Wilderness, and the fierce and undecided

HELEN LOUISE GILSON.
147
battles which were fought for the possession of Richmond and
Petersburg, in 1864 and 1865, she labored steadfastly on until
the end. Through scorching heat and pinching cold, in the tent
or upon
the
open
field, in the ambulance or on the saddle, through
rain and snow, amid unseen perils of the enemy, under fire upon
the field, or in the more insidious dangers of contagion, she worked
quietly on, doing her simple part with all womanly tact and skill,
until now the hospital dress is laid aside, and she rests, with the
sense of a noble work done, and with the blessings and prayers of
the thousands whose sufferings she has relieved, or whose lives she
has saved."
Amid all these labors, Miss Gilson found time and opportunity
to care for the poor negro washerwomen and their families, who
doing the washing of the hospital were allowed rations and a rude
shelter by the government in a camp near the hospital grounds.
Finding that they were suffering from overcrowding, privation,
neglect, and sickness, she procured the erection of comfortable
huts for them, obtained clothing from the North for the more
destitute, and by example and precept encouraged them in habits
of neatness and order, while she also inculcated practical godli-
ness in all their life. In a short time from one of the most mise-
rable this became the best of the Freedmen's camps. .
As was the case with nearly every woman who entered the
service at the seat of war, Miss Gilson suffered from malarious
fever. As often as possible she returned to her home for a briet
space, to recruit her wasted energies, and it was those brief inter-
vals of rest which enabled her to remain at her post until several
months after the surrender of Lee virtually ended the war.
She left Richmond in July, 1865, and spent the remainder of
the summer in a quiet retreat upon Long Island, where she par-
tially recovered her impaired health, and in the autumn returned
to her home in Chelsea.
In person Miss Gilson is small and delicately proportioned.
Without being technically beautiful, her features are lovely both

148
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
in form and expression, and though now nearly thirty years of age
she looks much younger than she actually is. Her voice is low
and soft, and her speech gentle and deliberate. Her movements
correspond in exact harmony with voice and speech. But, under
the softness and gentleness of her external demeanor, one soon
detects a firmness of determination, and a fixedness of will. No
doubt, once determined upon the duty and propriety of any
course, she will pursue it calmly and persistently to the end. It
is to these qualifications, and physical and moral traits, that she
owes the undoubted power and influence exercised in her late
mission.

MRS. JOHN HARRIS.
H
E would have been a man of uncommon sagacity and
penetration, who in the beginning of 1861, should have
chosen Mrs. Harris as capable of the great services and
the extraordinary power of endurance with which her
name has since been identified. A pale, quiet, delicate woman,
often an invalid for months, and almost always a sufferer; the
wife of a somewhat eminent physician, in Philadelphia, and in
circumstances which did not require constant activity for her live-
lihood, refined, educated, and shrinking from all rough or brutal
sights or sounds, she seemed one of those who were least fitted
to endure the hardships, and encounter the roughnesses of a life
in the camp or field hospitals.
But beneath that quiet and frail exterior, there dwelt a firm
and dauntless spirit. She had been known by her neighbors, and
especially in the church of which she was an honored member,
as a woman of remarkable piety and devotion, and as an excel-
lent and skilful attendant upon the sick. When the war com-
menced, she was one of the ladies who assembled to form the
Ladies' Aid Society of Philadelphia, and was chosen, we believe
unanimously, Corresponding Secretary. She seems to have en-
tered upon the work from the feeling that it was a part of her
duty, a sacrifice she was called to make, a burden which she
ought to bear. And through the war, mainly from her tempera-
ment, which inclined her to look on the dark side, she never
semed stimulated or strengthened in her work by that abiding
149

150
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
conviction of the final success of our arms, which was to so many
of the patient workers, the day-star of hope. Like Bunyan's
Master Fearing, she was always apprehensive of defeat and dis-
aster, of the triumph of the adversary; and when victories came,
her eyes were so dim with tears for the bereaved and sorrow-
stricken, and her heart so heavy with their griefs that she could
nut join in the songs of triumph, or smile in unison with the na-
tion's rejoicings. We speak of this not to depreciate her work or
zeal, but rather to do the more honor to both. The despondent
temperament and the intense sympathy with sorrow were consti-
tutional, or the result of years of ill-health, and that under their
depressing influence, with no step of her way lighted with the
sunshine of joy, she should have not only continued faithful to
her work, but have undergone more hardships and accomplished
more, for the soldiers than most others, reflects the highest credit
upon her patience, perseverance and devotion to the cause.
We have elsewhere in this volume given an account of the
origin and progress of the Ladies' Aid Society, of Philadelphia.
Mrs. Harris, though continued as its Corresponding Secretary
through the war, was, during the greater part of the time, its
correspondent in the field, and left to the other officers, the work
of raising and forwarding the money and supplies, while she at-
tended in person to their distribution. This division of labor
seems to have satisfied her associates, who forwarded to her order
their hospital stores and money with the most perfect confidence
in her judicious disposition of both. Other Societies, such as
the Penn Relief, the Patriotic Daughters of Lancaster, and Aid
Societies from the interior of Pennsylvania, as well as the Chris-
tian and Sanitary Commissions, made her their almoners, and she
distributed a larger amount of stores, perhaps, than any other
lady in the field.
The history of her work during the war, is given very fully,
in her correspondence with the Ladies' Aid Society, published in
their semi-annual reports. From these we gather that she had

MRS. JOHN HARRIS.
151
visited in 1861, and the winter of 1862, before the movement of
the army to the peninsula, more than one hundred hospitals of
the army of the Potomac, in and around Washington, and had
not only ministered to the physical wants of the sick and wounded
men, but had imparted religious instruction and consolation to
many of them. Everywhere her coming had been welcomed;
in many instances, eyes dimmed by the shadow of the wings of
the death-angel, saw in her the wife or mother, for whose coming
they had longed and died, with the hallowed word “mother” on
their lips.
When in the spring of 1862, the army of the Potomac moved
to the Peninsula, Mrs. Harris went thither, first distributing as
far as practicable, her stores among the men. Soon after her ar-
rival on the Peninsula, she found ample employment for her time.
The Chesapeake and Hygeia hospitals at Fortress Monroe, filled
at first mostly with the sick, and the few wounded in the siege
of Yorktown, were, after the battles of Williamsburg and West
Point crowded with such of the wounded, both Union and Con-
federate soldiers as could be brought so far from the battle-fields.
She spent two or three weeks here, aiding the noble women who
were acting as Matrons of these hospitals. From thence she went
on board the Vanderbilt, then just taken as a Government Trans-
port for the wounded from the bloody field of Fair Oaks.
She thus describes the scene and her work:
“There were eight hundred on board. Passage-ways, state-rooms, floors
from the dark and foetid hold to the hurricane deck, were all more than filled;
some on mattresses, some on blankets, others on straw; some in the death-
struggle, others nearing it, some already beyond human sympathy and help;
some in their blood as they had been brought from the battle-field of the Sab-
bath previous, and all hungry and thirsty, not having had anything to eat or
drink, except hard crackers, for twenty-four hours.
"The gentlemen who came on with us hurried on to the White House, and
would have had us go with them, but something held us back; thank God it
was so. Meeting Dr. Cuyler, Medical Director, he exclaimed, 'Here is work
for you! He, poor man, was completely overwhelmed with the general care
of all the hospitals at Old Point, and added to these, these mammoth floating

152
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
hospitals, which are coming in from day to day with their precious cai goes.
Without any previous notice, they anchor, and send to him for supplies, which
it would be extremely difficult to improvise, even in our large cities, and quite
impossible at Old Point. "No bakeries, no stores, except small sutlers.' The
bread had all to be baked; the boat rationed for two days; eight hundred on
board.
“When we went aboard, the first cry we met was for tea and bread. 'For
God's sake, give us bread, came from many of our wounded soldiers. Others
shot in the face or neck, begged for liquid food. With feelings of a mixed cha-
racter, shame, indignation, and sorrow blending, we turned away to see what
resources we could muster to meet the demand. A box of tea, a barrel of corn-
meal, sundry parcels of dried fruit, a few crackers, ginger cakes, dried rusk,
suudry jars of jelly and of pickles, were seized upon, soldiers and contrabands
impressed into service, all the cooking arrangements of three families appro-
priated, by permission, and soon three pounds of tea were boiling, and many
gallons of gruel blubbering. In the meantime, all the bread we could buy,
twenty-five loaves, were cut into slices and jellied, pickles were got in readiness,
and in an incredibly short time, we were back to our poor sufferers.
“When we carried in bread, hands from every quarter were outstretched,
and the cry, 'Give me a piece, O please! I have had nothing since Monday;'
another, ‘Nothing but hard crackers since the fight,' etc. When we had dealt
out nearly all the bread, a surgeon came in, and cried, Do please keep some
for the poor fellows in the hold; they are so badly off for everything.' So
with the remnant we threaded our way through the suffering crowd, amid such
exclamations as 'Oh! please don't touch my foot,' or, 'For mercy's sake, don't
touch my arm;' another, 'Please don't move the blanket; I am so terribly cut
up,' down to the hold, in which were not less than one hundred and fifty, nearly
all sick, some very sick. It was like plunging into a vapor bath, so hot, close-
and full of moisture, and then in this dismal place, we distributed our bread
oranges, and pickles, which were seized upon with avidity. And here let me
bay, at least twenty of them told us next day that the pickles had done them
more good than all the medicine they had taken. The tea was carried all
around in buckets, sweetened, but no milk in it. How much we wished for
some concentrated milk. The gruel, into which we had put a goodly quantity
of wine, was relished, you cannot know how much. One poor wounded boy,
exhausted with the loss of blood and long fasting, looked up after taking the
first nourishment he could swallow since the battle of Saturday, then four days,
and exclaimed, with face radiant with gratitude and pleasure, 'Oh! that is life
to me; I feel as if twenty years were given me to live.' He was shockingly
wounded about the neck and face, and could only take liquid food from a feed-
ing-cup, of which they had none on board. We left them fo ır, together with a

MRS. JOHN HARRIS.
153
number of tin dishes, spoons, etc. After hours spent in this way, we returned
to the Hygeia Hospital, stopping on our way to stew a quantity of dried fruit,
which served for supper, reaching the Hygeia wet through and through, every
garment saturated. Disrobed, and bathing with bay rum, was glad to lie down,
every bone aching, and head and heart throbbing, unwilling to cease work
where so much was to be done, and yet wholly unable to do more. There I
lay, with the sick, wounded, and dying all around, and slept from sheer exhaus-
tion, the last sounds falling upon my ear being groans from the operating
room."
Her ministrations to the wounded on the Vanderbilt were
unexpectedly prolonged by the inability of the officers to get the
necessary supplies on board, but two days after she was on the
Knickerbocker, a Sanitary Commission Transport, and on her
way to White House Landing where in company with Miss Char-
lotte Bradford, she spent the whole night on the Transport
Louisiana, dressing and caring for the wounded. When she left
the boat at eleven o'clock the next night she was obliged to wash
all her skirts which were saturated with the mingled blood of
the Union and Confederate soldiers which covered the floor, as
she kneeled between them to wash their faces. She had torn up
all her spare clothing which could be of use to them for bandages
and compresses.
From White House she proceeded to the battle-
ground of Fair Oaks, and presently pitched her tent on the
Dudley Farm, near Savage Station, to be near the group of field
hospitals, to which the wounded in the almost daily skirmishes
and the sick smitten with that terrible Chickahominy fever
were sent.
The provision made by the Medical Bureau of the Govern-
ment at this time for the care and comfort of the wounded and
fever-stricken was small and often inappropriate. Where tents
were provided, they were either of the wedge pattern or the
bivouacking tent of black cloth, and in the hot sun of a Virginia
summer absorbed the sun's rays till they were like ovens; many
of the sick were put into the cabins and miserable shanties of the
vicinity, and not unfrequently in the attics of these, where amid
20

154
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the intense heat they were left without food or drink except wlien
the Sanitary Commission's agents or some of the ladies connected
with other organizations, like Mrs. Harris, ministered to their
necessities. One case of this kind, not by any means the worst,
but told with a simple pathos deserves to be quoted :
“Passing a forlorn-looking house, we were told by a sentinel that a young
Captain of a Maine regiment laid in it very sick; we went in, no door obstruct-
ing, and there upon a stretcher in a corner of the room opening directly upon
the road lay an elegant-looking youth struggling with the last great enemy.
His mind wandered; and as we approached him he exclaimed: 'Is it not cruel
to keep me here when my mother and sister, whom I have not seen for a year,
are in the next room; they might let me go in ?' His mind continued to wan-
der; only for an instant did he seem to have a glimpse of the reality, when he
drew two rings from his finger, placed there by a loving mother and sister,
handed them to an attendant, saying: 'Carry them home, and then he was
amid battle scenes, calling out, ‘Deploy to the left;" 'Keep out of that ambus-
cade;' 'Now go, my braves, double quick, and strike for your flag! On, on,'
and he threw up his arms as if cheering them, “you'll win the day;' and so he
continued to talk, whilst death was doing its terrible work. As we looked upon
the beautiful face and manly form, and thought of the mother and sister in
their distant home, surrounded by every luxury wealth could purchase, worlds
seemed all too cheap to give to have him with them. But this could not be.
The soldier of three battles, he was not willing to admit that he was sick until
his strength failed, and he was actually dying. He was carried to this cheer-
less room, a rude table the only furniture; no door, no window-shutters; the
western sun threw its hot rays in upon him,-no cooling shade for his fevered
brow: and so he lay unconscious of the monster's grasp, which would not relax
until he had done his work. His last expressions told of interest in his men.
He was a graduate of Waterville College. Twenty of his company graduated
at the same institution. He was greatly beloved; his death, even in this Gol-
gotha, was painfully impressive. There was no time to talk to him of that
spirit-land upon which he was so soon to enter. Whispered a few verses of
Scripture into his ear; he looked with a sweet smile and thanked me, but his
manner betokened no appreciation of the sacred words. He was an only son.
His mother and sister doted on him. He had everything to bind him to life,
but the mandate had gone forth."
Of the scenes of the retreat from the Chickahominy to Harri-
son's Landing, Mrs. Harris was an active and deeply interested

MRS. JOHN HARRIS,
155
witness; she remained at Savage Station caring for the wounded,
for some time, and then proceeded to Seven Pines, where a day
was passed in preparing the wounded for the operations deemed
necessary, obtaining, at great personal peril, candles to light the
darkness of the field hospital, and was sitting down, completely
exhausted with her trying and wearisome labors, when an army
chaplain, an exception it is to be hoped to most of his profession,
in his unwillingress to serve the wounded, came to her and said,
“They have just brought in a soldier with a leg blown off; he is
in a horrible condition; could you wash him?” Wearied as she
was, she performed the duty tenderly, but it was scarcely finished
when death claimed him. Her escape to White House, and
thence to Harrison's Landing, was made not a minute too soon;
she was obliged to abandon her stores, and to come off on the
steamer in a borrowed bonnet.
At this trying time, her constitutional tendency to despondency
took full possession of her. “The heavens are filled with black-
ness," she writes; "I find myself on board the Nelly Baker, on
my way to City Point, with supplies for our poor army,
still have one; I am not always hopeful, you see. * * * Alarm-
ing accounts come to us. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the
best. We do not doubt we are in a very critical condition, out
of which only the Most High can bring us." This is not the
language of fear or cowardice. There was no disposition on her
part to seek her own personal safety, but while she despaired of
success,
she
was ready to brave any danger for the sake of the
wounded soldiers. This courage in the midst of despair, is really
greater than that of the battle-field.
The months of July and August, 1862, except a brief visit
home, were spent at Harrison's Landing, amid the scenes of dis-
tress, disease, wounds and suffering, which abounded there. The
malaria of the Chickahominy swamps had done much to demora-
lize the finest army ever put into the field; tens of thousands
were ill with it, and these, with the hosts of wounded accumu-
if we

156
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
lated more rapidly than the transports, numerous as they were,
could carry them away. Their condition at Harrison's Landing
was pitiable; the medical bureau seemed to have shared in the
general demoralization. The proper diet, the necessary hospital
arrangements, everything required for the soldiers' restoration to
health, was wanting; the pasty, adhesive mud was everywhere,
and the hospital tents, old, mildewed, and leaky, were pitched in
it, and no floors provided; hard tack, salt junk, fat salt pork,
and cold, greasy bean soup, was the diet provided for men suffer-
ing from typhoid fever, and from wounds which rendered liquid
food indispensable. Soft bread was promised, but was not
obtained till just before the breaking up of the encampment.
Nor was the destitution of hospital clothing less complete. In
that disastrous retreat across the peninsula, many of the men had
lost their knapsacks; the government did not provide shirts,
drawers, undershirts, as well as mattresses, sheets, blankets,
etc., in anything like the quantity needed, and men had often
lain for weeks without a change of clothing, in the mud and
filth. So far as a few zealous workers could do it, Mrs. Harris,
and her willing and active coadjutors sought to remedy these
evils; the clothing, and the more palatable and appropriate food
they could and did provide for most of those who remained.
Having accomplished all for these which she could, and the
army
having left the James River, after spending a few days at the
hospitals near Fortress Monroe, Mrs. Harris came up the Poto-
mac in one of the Government transports, reaching Alexandria
on the 31st of August. Here she found ample employment in
bestowing her tender care upon the thousands of wounded from
Pope's campaigns.
On the 8th of September, she followed, with her supplies, the
army on its march toward South Mountain and Antietam. She
reached Antietam the day after the battle, and from that time till
the 3rd of November, aided by a corps of most devoted and
earnest laborers in the work of mercy, among whom were Mrs.

MRS. JOHN HARRIS.
157
M. M. Husband, Miss M. M. C. Hall, Mrs. Mary W. Lee, Miss
Tyson, and others. Mrs. Harris gave herself to the work of
caring for the wounded. Sad were the sights she was often
called to witness. She bore ample testimony to the patience and
the uncomplaining spirit of our soldiers; to their filial devotion,
to the deep love of home, and the dear ones left behind, which
would be manifested in the dying hour, by brave, noble-hearted
men, and to the patriotism which even in the death agony, made
them rejoice to lay down their lives for their country.
Early in November, 1862, Mrs. Harris left Smoketown
General Hospital, near Antietam, and came to Washington. In
the hospitals in and around that city thirty thousand sick and
wounded men were lying, some of them well and tenderly cared
for, some like those in the Parole and Convalescent Camps near
Alexandria, (the “Camp Misery” of those days), suffering from
all possible privations. She did all that she could to supply the
more pressing needs of these poor men.
After a few weeks spent
in the vicinity of the Capitol, news of the disastrous battle of
Fredericksburg came to Washington. Though deeply depressed
by the intelligence, she hastened to the front to do what she
could for the thousands of sufferers. From this time till about
the middle of June, 1863, Mrs. Harris had her quarters in the
Lacy House, Falmouth, and aided by Mrs. Beck and Mrs. Lee,
worked faithfully for the soldiers, taking measures to re eve and
cure the ailing, and to prevent illness from the long and severe
exposures to which the troops were subject on picket duty, or
special marches, through that stormy and inclement winter.
This work was in addition to that in the camp and field hospitals
of the Sixth Corps. Another part of her work and one of special
interest and usefulness, was the daily and Sabbath worship at
her rooms, in which such of the soldiers as were disposed, par-
ticipated. The contrabands were also the objects of her sym-
pathy and care, and she assembled them for religious worship and
instruction on the Sabbath.

158
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
But the invasion of Pennsylvania was approaching, and she
went forward to Harrisburg, which was at first thought to be
threatened, on the 25th of June. After two or three days, find-
ing that there was no probability of an immediate battle there,
she returned to Philadelphia, and thence to Washington, which
she reached on the 30th of June. The next three days were
spent in the effort to forward hospital stores, and obtain trans-
portation to Gettysburg. The War Department then, as in most
of the great battles previously, refused to grant this privilege,
and though she sought with tears and her utmost powers of per-
suasion, the permission to forward a single car-load of stores, she
was denied, even on the 3rd of July. She could not be
restrained, however, from going where she felt that her services
would be imperatively needed, and at five P. M., of the 3rd of
July, she left Washington carrying only some chloroform and a
few stimulants, reached Westminster at four A. M., of the 4th,
and was carried to the battle-field of Gettysburg, in the ambui-
lance which had brought the wounded General Hancock to
Westminster. The next week was spent day and night amid the
horrors of that field of blood, horrors which no pen can describe.
That she and her indefatigable aid, (this time a young lady from
Philadelphia), were able to alleviate a vast amount of suffering,
to give nourishment to many who were famishing; to dress
hundreds of wounds, and to point the dying sinner to the
Saviour, or whisper words of consolation to the agonized heart,
was certain. On the night of the 10th of July, Mrs. Harris and
her friend Miss B. left for Frederick, Maryland, where a battle
was expected; but as only skirmishing took place, they kept on
to Warrenton and Warrenton Junction, where their labors were
incessant in caring for the great numbers of wounded and sick
in the hospitals. Constant labor had so far impaired her health,
that on the 18th of August she attempted to get away from her
work for a few days rest; but falling in with the sick men of the
Sixth Michigan Cavalry, she went to work with her usual zeal

MRS. JOHN HARRIS.
159
to prepare food and comforts for them, and when tley were
supplied returned to her work; going to Culpepper Court House,
where there were four hospitals, and remaining there till the last
of September.
The severe battle of Chickamauga, occurring on the 19th and
20th of September, roused her to the consciousness of the great
field for labor, offered by the Western armies, and about the 1st of
October, she went to Nashville, Tennessee, taking her friends Miss
Tyson and Mrs. Beck with her. It was her intention to go on
to Chattanooga, but she found it impossible at that time to pro-
cure transportation, and she and her friends at once commenced
work among the refugees, the “poor white trash," who were then
crowding into Nashville. For a month and more they labored
zealously, and with good results, among these poor, ignorant, but
loyal people, and then Mrs. Harris, after a visit to Louisville to
provide for the inmates of the numerous hospitals in Nashville, a
Thanksgiving dinner, pushed forward to the front, reaching
Bridgeport, on the 28th of November, and Chattanooga the next
day. Here she found abundant work, but her protracted labors
had overtasked her strength, and she was for several weeks so ill
that her life was despaired of. She was unable to resume her
labors until the latter part of January, 1864, and then she
worked with a will for the half starved soldiers in the hospitals,
among whom scurvy and hospital gangrene were prevailing.
After two months of faithful labor among these poor fellows, she
went back to Nashville, and spent four or five months more
among the refugees. She returned home early in May, 1861,
hoping to take a brief period of rest, of which she was in great
need; but two weeks later, she was in Fredericksburg, attending
to the vast numbers of wounded brought from the battles of the
Wilderness and Spottsylvania, and followed on with that sad
procession of the wounded, the dead, and the dying, to Port
Royal, White House, and City Point. Never had been there so
much need for her labors, and she toiled on, though suffering

160
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
from constant prostration of strength, until the close of June,
when she was obliged to relinquish labor for a time, and restore
the almost exhausted vital forces. In September, she was again
in the field, this time with the Army of the Shenandoah, at Win-
chester, where she ministered to the wounded for some weeks.
She was called home to attend her mother in her last illness, and
for three or four months devoted herself to this sacred duty,
Early in the spring of 1865, she visited North Carolina, and all
the sympathy of her nature was called out in behalf of the poor
released prisoners from Andersonville and Salisbury, to whom
she ministered with her usual faithfulness. At the close of the
war, she returned to her home, more an invalid than ever from
the effects of a sun-stroke received while in attendance on a field
hospital in Virginia.

MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
M
RS. ELIZA C. PORTER, the subject of the following
sketch, is the wife of the Rev. Jeremiah Porter, a Pres-
byterian clergyman of Chicago, Illinois.
Of all the noble band of Western women who dur-
ing the late war devoted time, thought, and untiring exertions to
the care of our country's defenders, very few, if any are more worthy
of honorable mention, and the praise of a grateful nation, than
Mrs. Porter. Freely she gave all, withholding not even the most
precious of her possessions and efforts—her husband, her sons,
her time and strength, the labor of hands and brain, and, above
all, her prayers. Few indeed at a time when sacrifices were
general, and among the women of our country the rule rather
than the exception, made greater sacrifices than she. Her home
was broken up, and the beloved circle scattered, each member in
his or her own appropriate sphere, actively engaged in the great
work which the war unfolded.
A correspondent thus describes Mrs. Porter; “Mrs. Porter is
from forty-five to fifty years of age, a quiet, modest, lady-like
woman, very gentle in her manners, and admirably qualified to
soothe, comfort and care for the sick and wounded.” But this
description, by no means includes, or does justice to the admi-
rable fitness for the work which her labors have developed, her
her
great executive and organizing ability, and her
tact ever displayed in doing and saying the right thing at pre-
cisely the right time. Of the value of this latter qualification
quiet energy,
21
161

162
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
few can form an estimate who have not seen excellent and praise-
worthy exertions so often wither unfruitfully for the lack alone
of an adjunct so nearly indispensable.
Mrs. Porter was early stimulated to exertion and sacrifice,
In the spring of 1861, immediately after the breaking out of the
war, while sitting one morning at her breakfast table, her hus-
band, eldest son and two nephews being present, she exclaimed
fervently; “If I had a hundred sons, I would gladly send them
all forth to this work of putting down the rebellion.”
The three young men then present all entered the army. One
of them after three years' service was disabled by wounds and
constant labor. The other two gave themselves anew to their
country, all they could give.
During the summer of 1861 Mrs. Porter visited Cairo where
hospitals had been established, and in her labors and experier ses
there carried what things were most needed by the sick and
wounded soldiers. In October of that year, Illinois was first
roused to co-operation in the work of the Sanitary Commission.
The Northwestern Sanitary Commission was established, and at
the request of Mr. E. W. Blatchford and others, Mrs. Porter was
induced to take charge of the Commission Rooms which were
opened in Chicago. Her zeal and abilities, as well as the hos-
pital experiences of the summer, had fitted her for the arduous
task, and as opening to her a field of great usefulness, she
accepted the appointment. How she devoted herself to that
work, at what sacrifice of family comfort, and with what success,
is well known to the Commission, and to thousands of its early
contributors.
In April, 1862, she became satisfied that she could be more
useful in the field, by taking good nurses to the army hospitals,
and herself laboring with them. Her husband, who the previous
winter had been commissioned as Chaplain of the First Illinois
Light Artillery, was then at Cairo, where he had been ordered
to laboi in hospitals; and Mrs. Porter, visiting Cairo and Pa-

MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
163
ducah, entered earnestly into the work of placing the nurses she
had brought with her from Chicago. Some of these devoted
themselves constantly to the service, and proved equally suc-
cessful and valuable.
At Cairo, Mrs. Porter made the acquaintance of Miss Mary
J. Safford, since known as the “Cairo Angel," and co-operating
with her there, and with Mr. Porter and various surgeons and
philanthropists, aided in receiving, and temporarily caring for
seven hundred men from the field of Pittsburgh Landing, and in
transferring them to the hospitals of Mound City, Illinois.
From four o'clock in the morning until ten at night, Mrs.
Porter and her friends labored, and then, their work accomplished
and their suffering charges made as comfortable as circumstances
would permit, they were forced, by the absence of hotel accommo-
dations, to spend the night upon the steamer where the state-
rooms being occupied, they slept upon chairs.
Seon afterward she went, accompanied by Miss Safford, to
Pittsburgh Landing. There she obtained from the Medical
Director, Dr. Charles McDougal, an order for several female
nurses for his department. She hastened to Chicago, secured
them, and accompanying them to Tennessee placed them at
Savannah with Mrs. Mary Bickerdyke, who had been with the
wounded since the battle of Shiloh. From thence she went to
Corinth, then just taken by General Grant. She was accompa-
nied by several benevolent ladies from Chicago, like herself bent
on doing good to the sick and wounded. At Corinth she joined
her husband, and he being ordered to join his regiment at Mem-
phis, she went thither in his company.
Here, principally in the hospital of the First Light Artillery
at Fort Pickering, she labored through the summer of 1862, and
afterwards returned to visit some of the southern towns of Illinois
in sei rch of sures from the farmers, which she added to the sup-
plies forwarded by the Commission.
While at Memphis, Mrs. Porter became deeply interested in

164
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the welfare of the escaped slaves and their families congregated
there.
Receiving aid from friends at the North, she organized a school
for them, and spent all her leisure hours in giving them instruc-
tion. One of the nurses she had brought thither desired to aid
in the work, and obtaining needful books and charts she orga-
nized a school for Miss Humphrey at Shiloh.
Mrs. Porter was very successful in this work. In her youth
she had gathered an infant school among the half-breed children
at Mackinac and Point St. Ignace, and understood well how to
deal with these minds scarce awakened from the dense slumber
of ignorance.
The school flourished, and others entered into the work, and
other schools were established. Ministering to their temporal
wants as well, clothing, feeding, medicating these unfortunate
people, visiting their hospitals as well as those of the army,
Mrs. Porter remained at Memphis and in its vicinity until
June, 1863.
Her schools having by that time become well-established, and
general interest in the scheme awakened, Mrs. Porter felt herself
constrained to once more devote herself exclusively to the sol-
diers, a large number of whom were languishing in Southern
hospitals in an unhealthy climate. Failing in her attempts to
get them rapidly removed to the North, through correspondence
with the Governors of Ohio and Illinois, she went North for the
purpose of obtaining interviews with these gentlemen. At Green
Bay, Wisconsin, she joined Mrs. Governor Harvey, who was
striving to obtain a State Hospital for Wisconsin. Here she pro-
posed to Senator T. O. Howe to draft a petition to the President,
praying for the establishment of such hospitals. Judge Howe
was greatly pleased to comply, and accordingly drew up the
petition to which Mrs. Howe and others obtained over eight
thousand names. Mrs. Harvey desired Mrs. Porter to accom-
pany her to Washington with the petition, but she declined, and

MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
165
Mrs. Harvey went alone, and as the result of her efforts, suc-
ceeded in the establishment of the Harvey Hospital at Madison,
Wisconsin.
Other parties took up the matter in Illinois, and Mrs. Porter
returned to her beloved work at the South, visiting Natchez and
Vicksburg. At the latter place she joined Mrs. Harvey and
Mrs. Bickerdyke, all three ministering by Sanitary stores and
personal aid to the sick and wounded in hospitals and regiments.
While on her way, at Memphis, she learned that the battery,
in which were her eldest son and a nephew, had gone with
Sherman's army toward Corinth, and started by rail to overtake
them. At Corinth, standing in the room of the Sanitary Com-
mission, she saw the battery pass in which were her boys. It
was raining, and mud-bespattered and drenched, her son rode by
in an ague chill, and could only give her a look of recognition as
he passed on to the camp two miles beyond. The next morning
she went out to his camp, but missed him, and returning found
him at the Sanitary Rooms in another chill. The next day she
nursed him through a third chill, and then parting she sent her
sick boy on his way toward Knoxville and Chattanooga.
After a short stay at Vicksburg she once more returned to
Illinois to plead with Governor Yates to bring home his disabled
soldiers, then went back, by way of Louisville and Nashville, to
Huntsville, Alabama, where she met and labored indefatigabl
with Mrs. Lincoln Clark and her daughter, of Chicago, and Mrs.
Bickerdyke.
After a few weeks spent there in comforting the sick, pointing
the dying to the Saviour, and ministering to surgeons, officers,
and soldiers, she followed our conquering arms to Chattanooga,
Resaca, Kingston, Allatoona Pass, Marietta and Atlanta.
As a memorial of her earlier movements in this campaign, we
extract the following letter from the Report for January and Feb-
ruary, 1864, of the Northwestern Sanitary Commission.
“From a mass of deeply interesting correspondence on hand,

166
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
we select the following letter from Rev. Mrs. Jeremiah Porter,
who, with Mrs. Bickerdyke, the widely known and very efficient
Hospital Matron, has been laboring in the hospitals of the 15th
Army Corps, most of the time since the battle of Chickamauga.
Mrs. Bickerdyke was assigned to hospital duty in this corps,
at
the request of General Sherman, and is still actively engaged
there. This letter affords glimpses of the hardships and priva-
tions of our brave men, whose sufferings in Southern and Eastern
Tennessee during the months of December and January, have
been unparalleled.”
“IN CAMP, NOVEMBER 4TH, FIELD HOSPITAL,
“CHATTANOOGA, January 24, 1864.
“I reached this place on New Year's Eve, making the trip of the few miles
from Bridgeport to Chattanooga, in twenty-four hours. New Year's morning
was very cold. I went immediately to the Field Hospital about two miles out
of town, where I found Mrs. Bickerdyke hard at work, as usual, endeavoring to
comfort the cold and suffering, sick and wounded. The work done on that day
told most happily on the comfort of the poor wounded men.
“The wind came sweeping around Lookout Mountain, and uniting with cur-
rents from the valleys of Mission Ridge, pressed in upon the hospital tents,
overturning some, and making the inmates of all tremble with cold and anxious
fear. The cold had been preceded by a great rain, which added to the general
discomfort. Mrs. Bickerdyke went from tent to tent in the gale, carrying hot
bricks and hot drinks to warm and to cheer the poor fellows. 'She is a power
of good,' said one soldier. “We fared mighty poor till she came here,' said
another. God bless the Sanitary Commission,' said a third, 'for sending women
among us! The soldiers fully appreciate. 'Mother Bickerdyke,' as they call
her, and her work.
Mrs. Bickerdyke left Vicksburg at the request of General Sherman, and
other officers of his corps, as they wished to secure her services for the then
approaching battle. The Field Hospital of the 15th (Sherman's) Army Corps,
was situated on the north bank of the Genesee river, on a slope at the base of
Mission Ridge, where, after the struggle was over, seventeen hundred of our
wounded and exhausted soldiers were brought. Mrs. Bickerdyke reached there
before the din and smoke of battle were well over, and before all were brought
from the field of blood and carnage. There she remained the only female
attendant for four weeks. Never has she rendered more valuable service. Dr.
Newberry arrived in Chattanooga with Sanitary goods which Mrs. Bickerdyke
nad the pleasure of using, as she says, 'just when and where needed,' and never

MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
167
the process.
were Sanitary goods more deeply felt to be good goods. “What could we do
without them?' is a question I often hear raised, and answered with a hearty
"God bless the Sanitary Commission! which is now, everywhere, acknowledged
as a great power for good.
“The Field Hospital was in a forest, about five miles from Chattanooga, wood
was abundant, and the camp was warmed by immense burning 'log heaps,
which were the only fire-places or cooking-stoves of the camp or hospitals.
Men were detailed to fell the trees and pile the logs to heat the air, which was
very wintry. And beside them Mrs. Bickerdyke made soup and toast, tea and
coffee, and broiled mutton, without a gridiron, often blistering her fingers in
A house in due time was demolished to make bunks for the worst
cases, and the brick from the chimney was converted into an oven, when Mrs.
Bickerdyke made bread, yeast having been found in the Chicago boxes, and
flour at a neighboring mill, which had furnished flour to secessionists through
the war until now. Great multitudes were fed from these rude kitchens. Com-
panies of hungry soldiers were refreshed before those open fire-places, and from
those ovens.
On one occasion, a citizen came and told the men to follow him,
he would show them a reserve of beef and sheep which had been provided for
General Bragg's army, and about thirty head of cattle and twenty sheep was
the prize. Large potash kettles were found, which were used over the huge log
fires, and various kitchen utensils for cooking were brought into camp from
time to time, almost every day adding to our conveniences. After four weeks
of toil and labor, all the soldiers who were able to leave were furloughed home,
and the rest brought to the large hospital where I am now located. About nine
hundred men are here, most of them convalescents, and waiting anxiously to
have the men and mules supplied with food, so that they may have the benefit
of the cars, which have been promised to take them home.
“There was great joy in the encampment last week, at the announcement of
the arrival of a train of cars from Bridgeport. You at home can have little
appreciation of the feelings of the men as that sound greeted their ears. Our
poor soldiers had been reduced to half and quarter rations for weeks, and those
of the poorest quality. The mules had fallen by the wayside from very starva-
tion. You cannot go a mile in any direction without seeing these animals
lying dead from starvation-and this state of things had to continue until the
railroad was finished to Chattanooga, and the cars could bring in sustenance for
man and beast. You will not wonder then at the huzzas of the men in the hos-
pitals and camps, as the whistle of the long looked for train was heard.
"The most harrowing scenes are daily witnessed here. A wife came on yes-
terday only to learn that her dear husband had died the morning previous. Her
lamentations were heart-breaking. "Why could he not have lived until I came ?
Why? In the evening came a sister, whose aged parents had sent her te

168
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
search for their only son. She also came too late. The brother had gone to
the soldier's grave two days previous. One continued wail of sorrow goes up
from all parts of this stricken land.
“I have protracted this letter, I fear, until you are weary. I write in great
haste, not knowing how to take the time from pressing duties which call me
everywhere. Yours, etc.,
“ELIZA C. PORTER."
She says:
In illustration of her services at this time, and of the undercur-
rent of terror and sadness of this triumphal march, we can do no
better than to give some extracts from her journal, kept during
this period, and published without her knowledge in the Sanitary
Commission Bulletin. It was commenced on the 15th of May,
1864, as she was following Mrs. Bickerdyke to Ringgold, Georgia.
Together they arrived at Sugar Creek, where but two miles dis-
tant the battle was raging, and spent the night at General Logan's
headquarters, within hearing of its terrific sounds. All night,
and all day Sunday, they passed thus, not being permitted to go
upon the field, but caring for the wounded as rapidly as possible,
as they were brought to the rear.
“The wounded were brought into hospitals, quickly and
roughly prepared in the forest, as near the field as safety would
permit. What a scene was presented! Precious sons of northern
mothers, beloved husbands of northern wives were already here
to undergo amputation, to have wounds probed and dressed, or
broken limbs set and bandaged. Some were writhing under the
surgeon's knife, but bore their sufferings bravely and uncomplain-
ingly. There were many whose wounds were considered slight,
such as a shot through the hand, arm, or leg, which but for the
contrast with severer cases, would seem dreadful. Never was the
presence of women more joyfully welcomed. It was touching to
see those precious boys looking up into our faces with such hope
and gladness. It brought to their minds mother and home, as
each testified, while his wounds were being dressed; "This seems
a little like having mother about,' was the reiterated expression
of the wounded, as one after another was washed and liad his

MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
169
wounds dressed. Mrs. Bickerdyke and myself assisted in the
operation. Poor boys! how my heart ached that I could do so
little.
“ After doing what we could in Hospital No. 1, to render the
condition of the poor fellows tolerable, we proceeded to No. 2, and
did what we could there, distributing our sanitary comforts in the
most econonomical manner, so as to make them go as far as pos-
sible. We found that what we brought in the ambulance was
giving untold comfort to our poor exhausted wounded men, whose
rough hospital couches were made by pine boughs with the stems
cut out, spread upon the ground over which their blankets were
thrown. This forms the bed, and the poor fellows' blouses, satu-
rated with their own blood, is their only pillow, their knapsacks
being left behind when they went into battle. More sanitary
goods are on the way, and will be brought to relieve the men as
soon as possible.”
Amidst all this care for others, there was little thought for her
own comfort. She says in another place:
"Our bed was composed of dry leaves, spread with a rubber
and soldier's blanket—our own blankets, with pillows and all,
having been given out to sufferers long before night.”
In this diary we find another illustration of her extreme
modesty. Though intended but for the eyes of her own family,
she says much of Mrs. Bickerdyke's work, and but little of her
own. Two, three, or four hundred men, weary and exhausted,
would be sent to them, and they must exert every nerve to feed
them, while they snatched a little rest. Pickles, sauer-kraut,
coffee and hard bread they gave to these—for the sick and
wounded they reserved their precious luxuries. With a fire made
out of doors, beneath a burning sun, and in kettles such as they
could find, and of no great capacity, they made coffee, mush, and
cooked dried fruit and vegetables, toiling unweariedly through
the long hot days and far into the nights. Many of the men
knew Mrs. Bickerdyke, for many of them she had nursed through
22

170
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
wounds and sickness during the two years she had been with this
army, and she was saluted as “Mother” on all sides. Not less
grateful were they to Mrs. Porter. Again she says:
“The failing and faint-hearted are constantly coming in. They
report themselves sick, and a few days of rest and nourishing
food will restore most of them, but some have made their last
march, and will soon be laid in a soldier's grave! Mrs. Bicker-
dyke has sent gruel and other food, which I have been distribut-
ing according to the wants of the prostrate multitude, all on the
floor. Some are very sick men. It is a pleasure to do some-
thing for them. They are all dear to some circle, and are a noble
company.
Again she gives a sort of summary of her work in a letter,
dated Kingston, Georgia, June 1st: “We have received, fed, and
comforted at this hospital, during the past week, between four
and five thousand wounded men, and still they come. All the
food and clothing have passed under our supervision, and, indeed,
almost every garment has been given out by our hands. Almost
every article of special diet has been cooked by Mrs. Bickerdyke
personally, and all has been superintended by her. I speak of
this particularly, as it is a wonderful fulfillment of the promise,
"As thy day is, so shall thy strength be.'”
Again, writing from Alatoona, Georgia, June 14th: “I have
just visited a tent filled with 'amputated cases.' They are noble
young men, the pride and hope of loving families at the North,
but most of them are so low that they will never again return to
them. Each had a special request for something that he could
relish. I made my way quickly down from the heights, where
the hospital tents are pitched, and sought for the food they craved.
I found it among the goods of the Sanitary Commission and
now the dried currants, cherries, and other fruit are stewing; we
have unsoddered cans containing condensed milk and preserved
fruit—and the poor fellows will not be disappointed in their ex-
pectations.”
دور و

MRS. ELIZA C. PORTER.
171
In the foregoing sketch we have given but a very brief state-
ment of the labors and sacrifices of Mrs. Porter which were not
intermitted until the close of the war. We have said that her sons
were in the army. Her eldest son re-enlisted at the close of his
first term, and the youngest, after a hundred days' service, returned
to college to fit himself for future usefulness in his regenerated
country. Mr. Porter's services, as well as those of his wife were
of great value, and her son, James B. Porter, though serving as
a private only, in Battery A, First Illinois Light Artillery, has
had frequent and honorable mention.
At the close of Sherman's campaign Mrs. Porter finished her
army service by caring for the travel-worn and wearied braves as
they came into camp at Washington where, with Mrs. Stephen
Barker and others, she devoted herself to the distribution of sani-
tary stores, attending the sick and in various ways comforting
and relieving all who needed her aid after the toils of the Grand
March.

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
MONG the hundreds who with untiring devotion have
consecrated their services to the ministrations of mercy
in the Armies of the Union, there is but one “Mother”
Bickerdyke. Others may in various ways have made
as great sacrifices, or displayed equal heroism, but her measures
and methods have been peculiarly her own, and “none but her-
self can be her parallel.”
She is a widow, somewhat above forty years of age, of humble
origin, and of but moderate education, with a robust frame and
great powers of endurance, and possessing a rough stirring elo-
quence, a stern, determined will and extraordinary executive
ability. No woman connected with the philanthropic work of
the
army
has encountered more obstacles in the accomplishment
of her purposes, and none ever carried them through more
triumphantly. She has two little sons, noble boys, to whom she
is devotedly attached, but her patriotic zeal was even stronger
than her love for her children, and she gave herself up to the
cause of her country most unhesitatingly.
At the commencement of the war, she was, it is said, house-
keeper in the family of a gentleman in Cleveland, but she
commenced her labors among the sick and wounded men of the
army very early, and never relinquished her work until the close
of the conflict. It has been one of her peculiarities that she
devoted her attention almost exclusively to the care of the
172

MRS. MARY A. BICK ERDYKE.
173
private soldiers; the officers, she said, had enough to look after
them; but it was the men, poor fellows, with but a private's pay,
a private's fare, and a private's dangers, to whom she was par-
ticularly called. They were dear to somebody, and she would
be a mother to them. And it should be said, to the honor of the
private soldiers of the Western Armies, that they returned her
kindness with very decided gratitude and affection. If they
were her "boys” as she always insisted, she was “Mother Bicker-
dyke” to the whole army. Nothing could exceed the zeal and
earnestness with which she has always defended their interests.
For her “boys,” she would brave everything'; if the surgeons or
attendants at the hospitals were unfaithful, she denounced them
with a terrible vehemence, and always managed to secure their
dismission; if the Government officers were slow or delinquent in
forwarding needed supplies, they were sure to be reported at
headquarters by her, and in such a way that their conduct would
be thoroughly investigated. Yet while thus stern and vindictive
toward those who through negligence or malice wronged the
soldiers of the army, no one could be more tender in dealing
with the sick and wounded. On the battle-field, in the field,
camp, post or general hospitals, her vigorous arm was ever ready
to lift the wounded soldier as tenderly as his own mother could
have done, and her ready skill was exerted with equal facility in
dressing his wounds, or in preparing such nourishment for him
as should call back his fleeting strength or tempt his fickle and
failing appetite. She was a capital forager, and for the sake of a
sick soldier she would undergo any peril or danger, and violate
military rules without the least hesitation. For herself she
craved nothing—would accept nothing—if “the boys in the
hospital” could be provided for, she was supremely happy. The
soldiers were ready to do anything in their power for her, while
the contrabands regarded her almost as a divinity, and would fly
with unwonted alacrity to obey her commands.
We are not certain whethe: she was an assistant in one of the

174
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
hospitals, or succored the wounded in any of the battles in Ken-
tucky or Missouri, in the autumn of 1861; we believe she was
actively engaged in ministering to the wounded after the fall or
Fort Donelson, and at Shiloh after the battle she rendered great
and important services. It was here, or rather at Savannah,
Tennessee, where one of the largest hospitals was established,
soon after the battle, and placed in her charge, that she first met
Mrs. Eliza C. Porter, who was afterward during Sherman's
Grand March her associate and companion. Mrs. Porter
brought from Chicago a number of nurses, whom she placed
under Mrs. Bickerdyke's charge.
The care of this hospital occupied Mrs. Bickerdyke for some
months, and we lose sight of her till the battle of Perrysville
where amid difficulties which would have appalled any ordinary
spirit, she succeeded in dressing the wounds of the soldiers and
supplying them with nourishment. But with her untiring
energy,
she was not satisfied with this. Collecting a large num-
ber of negro women who had escaped from the plantations along
the route of the Union Army, she set them to work gathering
the blankets and clothing left on the field, and such of the
clothing of the slain and desperately wounded as could be spared,
and having superintended the washing and repairing of these
articles, distributed them to the wounded who were in great need
of additional clothing. She also caused her corps of contrabands
to pick up all the arms and accoutrements left on the field, and
turn them over to the Union Quartermaster. Having returned
after a time to Louisville, she was appointed Matron of the
Gayoso Hospital, at Memphis. This hospital occupied the Gay-
oso House, formerly the largest hotel in Memphis. It was Mrs.
Bickerdyke's ambition to make this the best hospital of the six
or eight in the city, some of them buildings erected for hospital
puu'poses. A large hotel is not the best structure for a model
hospital, but before her energy and industry all obstacles disap-
peared. By an Army regulation or custom, convalescent soldiers

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
175
were employed as nurses, attendants and ward-masters in the hos-
pitals; an arrangement which though on some accounts desirable,
yet was on others objectionable. The soldiers not yet fully recov-
ered, were often weak, and incapable of the proper performance of
their duties; they were often, also, peevish and fretful, and from
sheer weakness slept at their posts, to the detriment of the
patients. It was hardly possible with such assistance to maintain
that perfect cleanliness so indispensable for a hospital. Mrs.
Bickerdyke determined from the first that she would not have
these convalescents as nurses and attendants in her hospital.
Selecting carefully the more intelligent of the negro women who
flocked into Memphis in great numbers, she assigned to them the
severer work of the hospital, the washing, cleaning, waiting upon
the patients, and with the aid of some excellent women nurses,
paid by Government, she soon made her hospital by far the best
regulated one in the city. The cleanliness and ventilation were
perfect. The patients were carefully and tenderly nursed, their
medicine administered at the required intervals, and the prepa-
ration of the special diet being wholly under Mrs. Bickerdyke's
supervision, herself a cook of remarkable skill, was admirably
done. Nothing escaped her vigilance, and under her watchful
care, the affairs of the hospital were admirably managed. She
would not tolerate any neglect of the men, either on the part of
attendants, assistant surgeons or surgeons.
On one occasion, visiting one of the wards containing the badly
wounded men, at nearly eleven o'clock, A. M., she found that the
assistant surgeon, in charge of that ward, who had been out on
a drunken spree the night before, and had slept very late, had .
not yet made out the special diet list for the ward, and the men,
faint and hungry, had had no breakfast. She denounced him at
once in the strongest terms, and as he came in, and with an
attempt at jollity inquired, “Hoity-toity, what's the matter ?”
she turned upon him with“ Matter enough, you miserable scoun-
drel! Here these men, any one of them worth a thousand of you,

176
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
are suffered to starve and die, because you want to be off upon a
drunk! Pull off
your shoulder-straps,” she continued, as he tried
feebly to laugh off her reproaches, “pull off your shoulder-straps,
for you shall not stay in the army a week longer.” The surgeon
still laughed, but he turned pale, for he knew her power. She
was as good as her word. Within three days she had caused his
discharge. He went to headquarters and asked to be reinstated.
Major-General Sherman, who was then in command, listened
patiently, and then inquired who had procured his discharge.
“I was discharged in consequence of misrepresentation," answered
the surgeon, evasively. "But who caused your discharge?" per-
sisted the general. “Why,” said the surgeon, hesitatingly, “I
suppose it was that woman, that Mrs. Bickerdyke.” “Oh!” said
Sherman, “well, if it was her, I can do nothing for you. She
ranks me.”
We may say in this connection, that the commanding generals
of the armies in which Mrs. Bickerdyke performed her labors,
Generals Sherman, Hurlburt, Grant, and Sherman again, in his
great march, having become fully satisfied how invaluable she
was in her care of the private soldiers, were always ready to listen
to her appeals and to grant her requests. She was, in particular,
a great favorite with both Grant and Sherman, and had only to
ask for anything she needed to get it, if it was within the power
of the commander to obtain it. It should be said in justice to
her, that she never asked anything for herself, and that her
requests were always for something that would promote the wel.
fare of the men.
Some months after the discharge of the assistant surgeon, the
surgeon in charge of the hospital, who was a martinet in disci-
pline, and somewhat irritated for some cause, resolved, in order
to annoy her, to compel the discharge of the negro nurses and
attendants, and require her to employ convalescent soldiers, as
the other hospitals were doing. For this purpose he procured
from the medical director an order that none but convalescent

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
177
soldiers should be employed as nurses in the Memphis hospitals.
The order was issued, probably, without any knowledge of the
annoyance it was intended to cause Mrs. Bickerdyke. It was to
take effect at nine o'clock the following morning. Mrs. Bicker-
dyke heard of it just at night. The Gayoso Hospital was nearly
three-fourths of a mile from headquarters. It was raining heavily,
and the mud was deep; but she was not the woman to be thwarted
in her plans by a hospital surgeon, without a struggle; so, nothing
daunted, she sallied out, having first had the form of an order
drawn up, permitting the employment of contrabands as nurses,
at the Gayoso Hospital. Arrived at headquarters, she was told
that the commanding general, Sherman's successor, was ill and
could not be seen. Suspecting that his alleged illness was only
another name for over-indulgence in strong drink, she insisted
that she must and would see him, and in spite of the objections
of his staff-officers, forced her way to his room, and finding him in
bed, roused him partially, propped him up, put a pen in his hand,
and made hin sign the order she had brought. This done, she
returned to her hospital, and the next morning, when the surgeon
and medical director came around to enforce the order of the
latter, she quietly handed them the order of the commanding-
general, permitting her to retain her contrabands.
While in charge of this hospital, she made several journeys to
Chicago and other cities of the Northwest, to procure aid for the
suffering soldiers. The first of these were characteristic of her
energy and resolution. She had found great difficulty in pro-
curing, in the vicinity of Memphis, the milk, butter, and eggs
needed for her hospital. She had foraged from the secessionists,
had traded with them her own clothing and whatever else she
could
spare, for these necessaries for her “boys,” until there was
nothing more left to trade. The other hospitals were in about the
same condition. She resolved, therefore, to have a dairy for the
hospitals. Going among the farmers of Central Illinois, she
begged two hundred cows and a thousand hens, and returned in
23

178
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
triumph with her flock of hens and her drove of cows. Op
reaching Memphis, her cattle and fowls made such a lowing and
cackling, that the secessionists of the city entered their complaint:
to the commanding general, who assigned her an island in the
Mississippi, opposite the city, where her dairy and hennery were
comfortably accommodated. It was we believe, while on this
expedition that, at the request of Mrs. Hoge and Mrs. Livermore,
the Associate Managers of the Northwestern Sanitary Commis-
sion, she visited Milwaukie, Wisconsin. The Ladies' Aid Society
of that city had memorialized their Chamber of Commerce to
make an appropriation to aid them in procuring supplies for the
wounded soldiers, and were that day to receive the reply of the
chamber.
Mrs. Bickerdyke went with the ladies, and the President of
the Chamber, in his blandest tones, informed them that the
Chamber of Commerce had considered their request, but that
they had expended so much recently in fitting out a regiment,
that they thought they must be excused from making any contri-
butions to the Ladies' Aid Society. Mrs. Bickerdyke asked the
privilege of saying a few words in the way of answer. For half
an hour she held them enchained while she described, in simple
but eloquent language, the life of the private soldier, his priva-
tions and sufferings, the patriotism which animated him, and led
him to endure, without murmuring, hardships, sickness, and
even death itself, for his country. She contrasted this with the
sordid love of gain which not only shrank from these sacrificee
in person, but grudged the pittance necessary to alleviate them,
while it made the trifling amount it had already contributed, an
excuse for making no further donations, and closed with this
forcible denunciation : “And you, merchants and rich men of
Milwaukie, living at your ease, dressed in your broad-cloth,
knowing little and caring less for the sufferings of these soldiers
from hunger and thirst, from cold and nakedness, from sickness
and wounds, from pain and death, all incurred that
you may roll

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
179
in wealth, and your homes and little ones be safe; you will refuse
to give aid to these poor soldiers, because, forsooth, you gave a
few dollars some time ago to fit out a regiment! Shame on you-
you are not men—you are cowards-go over to Canada—this
country has no place for such creatures!” The Chamber of Com-
merce was not prepared for such a rebuke, and they reconsidered
their action, and made an appropriation at once to the Ladies' Aid
Society.
Immediately after the surrender of Vicksburg, Mrs. Bicker-
dyke surrendered her hospital at Memphis into other hands, and
went thither to care for the wounded. She accompanied Sher-
man's corps in their expedition to Jackson, and amid all the hard-
ships and exposures of the field, ministered to the sick and
wounded. Cooking for them in the open air, under the burning
sun and the heavy dews, she was much exposed to the malarious
fevers of that sickly climate, but her admirable constitution
enabled her to endure fatigue and exposure, better even than most
of the soldiers. Though always neat and cleanly in person, she
was indifferent to the attractions of dress, and amid the flying
sparks from her fires in the open air, her calico dresses would
often take fire, and as she expressed it," the soldiers would put
her out," i. e. extinguish the sparks which were burning her
dresses. In this way it happened that she had not a single
dress which had not been more or less riddled by these sparks.
With her clothing in this plight she visited Chicago again late in
the summer of 1863, and the ladies of the Sanitary Commission
replenished her wardrobe, and soon after sent her a box of ex-
cellent clothing for her own use. Some of the articles in this box,
the gift of those who admired her earnest devotion to the interests
of the soldiers, were richly wrought and trimmed. Among these
were two elegant night dresses, trimmed with ruffles and lace.
On receiving the box, Mrs. Bickerdyke, who was again for the
time in charge of a hospital, reserving for herself only a few of
the plainest and cheapest articles, traded off the remainder, ex-

180
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
cept the two night dresses, with the rebel women of the vicinity,
for butter, eggs, and other delicacies for her sick soldiers, and as
she purposed going to Cairo soon, and thought that the night
dresses would bring more for the same purpose in Tennessee or
Kentucky, she reserved them to be traded on her journey. On
her way, however, at one of the towns on the Mobile and
Ohio railroad, she found two poor fellows who had been dis-
charged from some of the hospitals with their wounds not yet
fully healed, and their exertions in traveling had caused them to
break out afresh. Here they were, in a miserable shanty, sick,
bleeding, hungry, penniless, and with only their soiled clothing.
Mrs. Bickerdyke at once took them in hand. Washing their
wounds and staunching the blood, she tore off the lower portions
of the night dresses for bandages, and as the men had no shirts,
she arrayed them in the remainder of these dresses, ruffles, lace,
and all. The soldiers modestly demurred a little at the ruffles
and lace, but Mrs. Bickerdyke suggested to them that if any
inquiries were made, they could say that they had been plun-
dering the secessionists.
Visiting Chicago at this time, she was again invited to Mil-
waukie, and went with the ladies to the Chamber of Commerce.
Here she was very politely received, and the President informed
her that the Chamber feeling deeply impressed with the good
work, she and the other ladies were doing in behalf of the sol-
diers, had voted a contribution of twelve hundred dollars a month
to the Ladies' Aid Society. Mrs. Bickerdyke was not, however,
disposed to tender them the congratulations, to which perhaps
they believed themselves entitled for their liberality. “You
believe yourselves very generous, no doubt, gentlemen,” she said,
"and think that because you have voted this pretty sum, you are
doing all that is required of you. But I have in my hospital a
hundred poor soldiers who have done more than
you.
Who of you would contribute a leg, an arm, or an eye, instead of
what you have done? How many hundred or thousand dollars
any of

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDY KE.
181
would you consider an equivalent for either? Don't deceive
yourselves, gentlemen. The poor soldier who has given an arm,
a leg, or an eye to his country (and many of them have given
more than one) has given more than you have or can. How
much more, then, he who has given his life? No! gentlemen,
you must see your standard higher yet or you will not come up
to the full Yueasure of liberality in giving.”
On her return to the South Mrs. Bickerdyke spent a few weeks
at Huntsville, Alabama, in charge of a hospital, and then joined
Sherman's Fifteenth Corps in their rapid march toward Chatta-
nooga. It will be remembered that Sherman's Corps, or rather
the Army of the Tennessee which he now commanded were hur-
ried into action immediately on their arrival at Chattanooga.
To them was assigned the duty of making the attack against that
portion of the enemy who were posted on the northern termina-
tion of Mission Ridge, and the persistent assaults on Fort Buck-
ner were attended with severe slaughter, though they made the
victory elsewhere possible. The Field Hospital of the Fifteenth
Army Corps was situated on the north bank of the Genesee
River, on a slope at the base of Mission Ridge, where after the
struggle was over seventeen hundred of our wounded and ex-
hausted soldiers were brought. Mrs. Bickerdyke reached there
before the din and smoke of battle were well over, and before all
were brought from the field of blood and carnage. There she
remained the only female attendant for four weeks. The sup-
plies she had been able to bring with her soon gave out, but Dr.
Newberry, the Western Secretary of the Sanitary Commission,
presently arrived with an ample supply which she used freely.
The Field Hospital was in a forest, about five miles from
Chattanooga; wood was abundant, and the camp was warmed by
immense burning log heaps, which were the only fire-places or
cooking-stoves of the camp or hospitals. Men were detailed to
fell the trees and pile the logs to heat the air, which was very
wintry. Beside these fires Mrs. Bickerdyke made soup and

IS2
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
toast, tea and coffee, and broiled mutton without a grilliron, often
blistering her fingers in the process. A house in due time was
demolished to make bunks for the worst cases, and the bricks
from the chimney were converted into an oven, where Mrs. Bick-
erdyke made bread, yeast having been found in the Chicago
boxes, and flour at a neighboring mill which had furnished flour
to secessionists through the war until that time. Great multi-
tudes were fed from these rude kitchens, and from time to time
other conveniences were added and the labor made somewhat less
exhausting. After four weeks of severe toil all the soldiers who
were able to leave were furloughed home, and the remainder,
about nine hundred, brought to a more comfortable Field Hos-
pital, two miles from Chattanooga. In this hospital Mrs. Bick-
erdyke continued her work, being joined, New Year's eve, by
Mrs. Eliza C. Porter, who thenceforward was her constant asso-
ciate, both being employed by the Northwestern Sanitary Com-
mission to attend to this work of special field relief in that army.
.
Mrs. Porter says that when she arrived there it was very cold,
and the wind which had followed a heavy rain was very piercing,
overturning some of the hospital tents and causing the inmates
of all to tremble with cold and anxious fear. Mrs. Bickerdyke
was going from tent to tent in the gale carrying hot bricks and
hot drinks to warm and cheer the poor fellows. It was touching
to see the strong attachment the soldiers felt for her. “She is a
power of good,” said one soldier. “We fared mighty poor till
she came here," said another. “God bless the Sanitary Commis-
sion," said a third, " for sending women among us." True to her
attachment to the private soldiers, Mrs. Bickerdyke early sought
an interview with General Grant, and told him in her plain way,
that the surgeons in some of the hospitals were great rascals, and
neglected the men shamefully; and that unless they were removed
and faithful men put in their places, he would lose hundreds and
perhaps thousands of his veteran soldiers whom he could ill
afford to spare. “You must not,” she said, “trust anybody's

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
183
92
report in this matter, but see to it yourself. Disguise yourself so
that the surgeons or men won't know you, and go around to the
hospitals and see for yourself how the men are neglected.”
“But, Mrs. Bickerdyke," said the general," that is the business
of
my medical director, he must attend to that. I can't see to
everything in person.
“Well," was her reply,"leave it to him if you think best; but
if
you
do
you
will lose your men.
The general made no promises, but a night or two later the
hospitals were visited by a stranger who made very particular
inquiries, and within a week about half a dozen surgeons were
dismissed and more efficient men put in their places. At the
opening of spring, Mrs. Bickerdyke and Mrs. Porter returned to
Huntsville and superintended the distribution of Sanitary Sup-
plies in the hospitals there, and at Pulaski and other points.
No sooner was General Sherman prepared to move on his
Atlanta Campaign than he sent word to Mrs. Bickerdyke to come
up and accompany the army in its march. She accordingly left
Huntsville on the 10th of May for Chattanooga, and from thence
went immediately to Ringgold, near which town the army was
then stationed. As the army moved forward to Dalton and
Resaca, she sent forward teams laden with supplies, and followed
them in an ambulance the next day. On the 16th of May she
and her associate Mrs. Porter proceeded at once to the Field
Hospitals which were as near as safety would permit to the hard-
fought battle-ground of the previous day, washed the wounded,
dressed their wounds, and administered to them such nourish-
ment as could be prepared. There was at first some little
delay in the receipt of sanitary stores, but with wonderful tact
and ingenuity Mrs. Bickerdyke succeeded in making palatable
dishes for the sick from the hard tack, coffee and other items of
the soldier's ration. Soon however the sanitary goods came up,
and thenceforward, with her rare executive ability the depart-
inent of special relief for that portion of the army to which she

184
WOMANS WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
was assigned was maintained in its highest condition of efficiency,
in spite of disabilities which would have completely discouraged
any woman of less resolution. The diary of her associate, Mrs.
Porter, is full of allusions to the extraordinary exertions of Mrs.
Bickerdyke during this campaign. We quote two or three as
examples.
“To-day every kettle which could be raised has been used in
making coffee. Mrs. Bickerdyke has made barrel after barrel,
and it is a comfort to know that multitudes are reached, and
cheered, and saved. Two hundred and sixty slightly wounded
men just came to this point on the cars on their way North, all
hungry and weary, saying, "We are so thirsty,''Do give us some-
thing to eat.' Mrs. Bickerdyke was engaged in giving out
supper to the three hundred in wards here, and told them she
could not feed them then. They turned away in sorrow and were
leaving, when learning who they were—wounded men of the
Twentieth Army Corps, and their necessity—she told them to
wait a few moments, she would attend to them. She gave them
coffee, krout, and potato pickles, which are never eaten but by
famished men, and for once they were a luxury. I stood in the
room where our supplies were deposited, giving to some crackers,
to some pickles, and to each hungry man something. One of
the
green
cards that come on all the stores of the Northwestern
Commission Mrs. Bickerdyke had tacked upon the wall, and this
told the inquirers from what branch of the Commission the
sup-
plies were obtained. The men were mostly from New York,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and most grateful recipients were
they of the generosity of the Northwest. You can imagine the
effort made to supply two barrels of coffee with only three camp-
kettles, two iron boilers holding two pailfuls, one small iron tea-
kettle and one sauce-pan, to make it in. These all placed over a
dry rail-fire were boiled in double-quick time, and were filled
and refilled till all had a portion. Chicago canned milk never
gave more comfort than on this occasion, I assure you. Our

MRS. MARY A. BICKERDYKE.
185
92
cooking conveniences are much the same as at Mission Ridge,
but there is to be a change soon. The Medical Director informs
me that this is to be a recovering hospital, and cooking apparatus
will soon be provided."
“Mrs. Bickerdyke was greeted on the street by a soldier on
horseback; "Mother,' said he, “is that you? Don't you remem-
ber me? I was in the hospital, my arm amputated, and I was
saved by your kindness. I am so glad to see you,' giving her a
beautiful bouquet of roses, the only token of grateful remem-
brance he could command. Mrs. Bickerdyke daily receives such
greetings from men, who say they have been saved from death by
her efforts."
“To-day three hundred and twelve men have been fed and
comforted here. This morning Mrs. Bickerdyke made mush for
two hundred, having gathered up in various places kettles, so
that by great effort out of doors she can cook something. Potatoes,
received from Iowa, and dried fruit and canned, have meen dis-
tributed among the men. Many of them are from Iow. What
could we do without these stores ?' is the constant inquiry.”
“Almost every article of special diet has been cooked by Mrs.
Bickerdyke personally, and all has been superintended by her.”
After the close of the Atlanta Campaign and the convalescence
of the greater part of the wounded, Mrs. Bickerdyke returned to
Chicago for a brief period of rest, but was soon called to Nash-
ville and Franklin to attend the wounded of General Thomas's
Army after the campaign which ended in Hood's utter discomfi-
ture. When Savannah was surrendered she hastened thither, and
after organizing the supply department of its hospitals, she and
Mrs. Porter, who still accompanied her, established their system
of Field Relief in Sherman's Campaign through the Carolinas.
When at last in June, 1865, Sherman's veterans reached the Na-
tional Capitol and were to be mustered out, the Sanitary Com-
mission commenced its work of furnishing the supplies of clothing
and other needful articles to these grim soldiers, to make their
ور
24

186
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
homeward journey more comfortable and their appearance to their
families more agreeable. The work of distribution in the Fif-
teenth and Seventeenth Army Corps was assigned to Mrs. Bick-
erdyke and Mrs. Porter, and was performed, says Mrs. Barker,
who had the general superintendence of the distribution, admira-
bly. With this labor Mrs. Bickerdyke's connection with the
sanitary work of the army ceased. She had, however, been too
long engaged in philanthropic labor, to be content to sit down
quietly, and lead a life of inaction; and after a brief period of
rest, she began to gather the more helpless of the freedmen, in
Chicago, and has since devoted her time and efforts to a “Freed-
men's Home and Refuge” in that city, in which she is accom-
plishing great good. Out of the host of zealous workers in the
hospitals and in the field, none have borne to their homes in
greater measure the hearty and earnest love of the soldiers, as
none had been more zealously and persistently devoted to their
interests.

MARGARET E. BRECKINRIDGE.
TRUE heroine of the war was Margaret Elizabeth
Breckinridge. Patient, courageous, self- forgetting,
strady of purpose and cheerful in spirit, she belonged
by nature to the heroic order, while all the circum-
stances of her early life tended to mature and prepare her for her
destined work. Had her lot been cast in the dark days of reli-
gious intolerance and persecution, her steadfast enthusiasm and
noly zeal would have earned for her a martyr's cross and crowl ;
but, born in this glorious nineteenth century, and reared in an
atmosphere of liberal thought and active humanity, the first spark
of patriotism that flashed across the startled North at the out-
break of the rebellion, set all her soul aglow, and made it hence-
forth an altar of living acrifice, a burning and a shining light,
to the end of her days. Dearer to her gentle spirit than any
martyr's crown, must have been the consciousness that this God-
given light had proved a guiding beacon to many a faltering soul
feeling its way into the din beyond, out of the drear loneliness
of camp or hospital. With her slight form, her bright face, and
her musical voice, she seemed a ministering angel to the sick and
suffering soldiers, while her swet womanly purity and her tender
devotion to their wants made her almost an cbject of worship
among them.
“Ain't she an angel ?” said a gray-headed soldier
as he watched her one morning as she was busy getting breakfast
for the boys on the steamer “City of Alton." "She never seems
to tire, she is always smiling, and don't seem to walk-she fies,
187

188
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
all but—God bless her!” Another, a soldier boy of seven tren
said to her, as she was smoothing his hair and saying cheering
words about mother and home to him, “Ma'am, where do
you
come from? How could such a lady as you are come down here,
to take care of us poor, sick, dirty boys ?” She answered—“I
consider it an honor to wait on you, and wash off the mud you've
waded through for me.”
Another asked this favor of her, “Lady, please write down your
name, and let me look at it, and take it home, to show my wife
who wrote my letters, and combed my hair and fed me. I don't
believe you're like other people.” In one of her letters she say:,
“I am often touched with their anxiety not to give trouble, not
to bother, as they say. That same evening I found a poor,
exhausted fellow, lying on a stretcher, on which he had just been
brought in. There was no bed for him just then, and he was to
remain there for the present, and looked uncomfortable enough,
with his knapsack for a pillow. "I know some hot tea will do
you good," I said. "Yes, ma'am,' he answered, but I am too
weak to sit up with nothing to lean against; it's no matter,
don't bother about me, but his eyes were fixed longingly on the
smoking tea. Everybody was busy, not even a nurse in sight,
but the poor man must have his tea. I pushed away the knap-
sack, raised his head, and seated myself on the end of the stretcher;
and, as I drew his poor tired head back upon my shoulder and
half held him, he seemed, with all his pleasure and eager enjoy-
ment of the tea, to be troubled at my being so bothered with him.
He forgot I had come so many hundred miles on purpose to be
bothered."
One can hardly read this simple unaffected statement of hers,
without instinctively recalling the touching story told of a soldier
m one of the hospitals of the Crimea who, when Florence Night-
ingale had passed, turned and kissed the place upon his pillow
where her shadow fell. The sweet name of the fair English
nurse might well be claimed by many of our American heroines,

MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRIDGE.
189
but, when we think of Margaret's pure voice, singing hymns with
the soldiers on the hospital-boat, filling the desolate woods along
the, Mississippi shores with solemn music in the still night, w
feel that it belongs especially to her and that we may call her
without offense to the others, our Florence Nightingale.
Her great power of adaptation served her well in her chosen
vocation. Unmindful of herself, and always considerate of others,
she could suit herself to the need of the moment and was equally
at home in making tea and toast for the hungry, dressing ghastly
wounds for the sufferers, and in singing hymns and talking of
spiritual things with the sick and dying.
She found indeed her true vocation. She saw her way and
walked fearlessly in it; she knew her work and did it with all
her heart and soul. When she first began to visit the hospitals
in and around St. Louis, she wrote “I shall never be satisfied
till I get right into a hospital, to live till the war is over. If you
are constantly with the men, you have hundreds of opportunities
and moments of influence in which you can gain their attention
and their hearts, and do more good than in any missionary field.”
Once, on board a steamer near Vicksburg, during the fearful
winter siege of that city, some one said to her, “You must hold
back, you are going beyond your strength, you will die if you
are not more prudent!” “Well,” said she, with thrilling ear-
nestness, "what if I do? Shall men come here by tens of thou-
sands and fight, and suffer, and die, and shall not some women
be willing to die to sustain and succor them?” No wonder that
such sincerity won all hearts and carried all before it! Alas! the
brave spirit was stronger than the frail casket that encased it,
and that yielded inevitably to the heavy demands that were made
upon it.
A rare and consistent life was hers, a worthy and heroic death,
Let us stop a moment to admire the truth and beauty of the one,
and to do reverence to the deep devotion of the other. The fol-
lewing sketch is gathered from the pages of a “Memorial” pub-

190
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
lished by her friends shortly after her death, which occurred at
Niagara Falls, July 27th, 1864.
“Margaret Elizabeth Breckinridge was born in Philadelphia,
March 24th, 1832. Her paternal grandfather was John Breck-
inridge, of Kentucky, once Attorney-General of the United
States. Her father, the Rev. John Breckinridge, D.D., was his
second son, a man of talent and influence, from whom Margaret
inherited good gifts of mind and heart, and an honored name.
Her mother, who was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Miller, of
Princeton, N. J., died when Margaret was only six years old, at
which time she and her sister Mary went to live with their
grandparents at Princeton. Their father dying three years after-
wards, the home of the grandparents became their permanent
abode. They had one brother, now Judge Breckinridge of St.
Louis. Margaret's school-days were pleasantly passed, for she
had a genuine love of study, an active intellect, and a very reten-
tive memory.
When her school education was over, she still
continued her studies, and never gave up her prescribed course
until the great work came upon her which absorbed all her time
and powers. In the year 1852 her sister married Mr. Peter A.
Porter of Niagara Falls, a gentleman of culture and accomplish-
ments, a noble man, a true patriot. At his house the resort of
literary and scientific men, the shelter of the poor and friendless,
the centre of sweet social life and domestic peace, Margaret found
for a time a happy home.
“Between her and her sister, Mrs. Porter, there was genuine
sisterly love, a fine intellectual sympathy, and a deep and tender
affection. The first great trial of Miss Breckinridge's life was
the death of this beloved sister which occurred in 1854, only two
years after her marriage. She died of cholera, after an illness
of only a few hours. Margaret had left her but a few days be-
fore, in perfect health. The shock was so terrible that for many
years she could not speak her sister's name without deep emotion;
but she was too brave and too truly religious to allow this blow,

MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRIDGE.
191
dreadful as it was, to impair her usefulness or unfit her for her
destined work. Her religion was eminently practical and ener-
getic. She was a constant and faithful Sunday-school teacher,
and devoted her attention especially to the colored people in whom
she had a deep interest. She had become by inheritance the
owner of several slaves in Kentucky, who were a source of great
anxiety to her, and the will of her father, though carefully de-
signed to secure their freedom, had become so entangled with
state laws, subsequently made, as to prevent her, during her life,
from carrying out what was his wish as well as her own. By
her will she directed that they should be freed as soon as possible,
and something given them to provide against the first uncertain-
ties of self-support.
So the beginning of the war found Margaret ripe and ready
for her noble womanly work; trained to self-reliance, accustomed
to using her powers in the service of others, tender, brave, and
enthusiastic, chastened by a life-long sorrow, she longed to devote
herself to her country, and to do all in her power to help on its
noble defenders. During the first year of the struggle duty con-
strained her to remain at home, but heart and hands worked
bravely all the time, and even her ready pen was pressed into the
service.
But Margaret could not be satisfied to remain with the Home-
Guards. She must be close to the scene of action and in the
foremost ranks. She determined to become a hospital-nurse,
Her anxious friends combated her resolution in vain; they felt
that her slender frame and excitable temperament could not bear
the stress and strain of hospital work, but she had set her mark
and nust press onward let life or death be the issue. In April,
1862, Miss Breckinridge set out for the West, stopping a few
weeks at Baltimore on her way. Then she commenced her hos-
pital service; then, too, she contracted measles, and, by the time
she reached Lexington, Kentucky, her destination, she was quite
ill; but the delay was only temporary, and soon she was again

192
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
absorbed in her work. A guerrilla raid, under John Morgan,
brought her face to face with the realities of war, and soon after,
early in September she found herself in a beleaguered city, actu-
ally in the grasp of the Rebels, Kirby Smith holding possession
of Lexington and its neighborhood for about six weeks. It is
quite evident that Miss Breckinridge improved this occasion to
air her loyal sentiments and give such help and courage to Union-
ists as lay. in her power. In a letter written just after this inva-
sion she says, “At that very time, a train of ambulances, bringing
our sick and wounded from Richmond, was leaving town on its
way to Cincinnati. It was a sight to stir every loyal heart; and
so the Union people thronged round them to cheer them up with
pleasant, hopeful words, to bid them God speed, and last, but not
least, to fill their haversacks and canteens. We went, thinking
it possible we might be ordered off by the guard, but they only
stood off, scowling and wondering.
“Good-by,' said the poor fellows from the ambulances,' we're
coming back as soon as ever we get well.'
“Yes, yes,' we whispered, for there were spies all around us,
"and every one of you bring a regiment with you.'"
As soon as these alarms were over, and Kentucky freed from
rebel invaders, Miss Breckinridge went on to St. Louis, to spend
the winter with her brother. As soon as she arrived, she began
to visit the hospitals of the city and its neighborhood, but her
chief work, and that from the effects of which she never recovered,
was the service she undertook upon the hospital boats, which were
sent down the Mississippi to bring up the sick and wounded from
the posts below. She made two excursions of this kind, full of
intense experiences, both of pleasure and pain. These boats went
down the river empty unless they chanced to carry companies of
soldiers to rejoin their regiments, but they returned crowded with
the sick and dying, emaciated, fever-stricken men, sadly in need
of tender nursing but with scarcely a single comfort at command.
Several of the nurses broke down under this arduous and difficult
ورو

MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRIDGE.
193
service, but Margaret congratulated herself that she had held out
to the end. These expeditions were not without danger as well
as privation. One of her letters records a narrow escape. “To
give you an idea of the audacity of these guerrillas; while we
lay at Memphis that afternoon, in broad daylight, a party of six,
dressed in our uniform, went on board a government boat, lying
just across the river, and asked to be taken as passengers
six
iniles
up
the river, which was granted; but they had no sooner
left the shore than they drew their pistols, overpowered the crew,
and made them go up eighteen miles to meet another government
boat coming down loaded with stores, tied the boats together and
burned them, setting the crew of each adrift in their own yawl,
and nobody knew it till they reached Memphis, two hours later.
Being able to hear nothing of the wounded, we pushed on to
Helena, ninety miles below, and here dangers thickened. We
saw the guerrillas burning cotton, with our own eyes, along the
shore, we saw their little skiffs hid away among the bushes on
the shore; and just before we got to Helena, had a most narrow
escape from their clutches. A signal to land on the river was in
ordinary times never disregarded, as the way business of freight
and passengers was the chief profit often of the trip, and it seems
hard for pilots and captains always to be on their guard against a
decoy. At this landing the signal was given, all as it should be,
and we were just rounding to, when, with a sudden jerk, the
boat swung round into the stream again. The mistake was dis-
covered in time, by a government officer on board, and we escaped
an ambush. Just think! we might have been prisoners in Mis-
sissippi now, but God meant better things for us than that.”
Her tender heart was moved by the sufferings of the wretched
colored people at Helena. She says, “But oh! the contrabands!
my heart did ache for them. Such wretched, uncared-for, sad-
looking creatures I never saw. They come in such swarms that
it is impossible to do anything for them, unless benevolent people
take the thing into their hands. They have a little settlement in
25

194
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
one end of the town, and the government furnishes them rations,
but they cannot all get work, even if they were all able and
willing to do it; then they get sick from exposure, and now the
small pox is making terrible havoc among them. They have a
hospital of their own, and one of our Union Aid ladies has gone
down to superintend it, and get it into some order, but it seems as
if there was nothing before them but suffering for many a long
day to come, and that sad, sad truth came back to me so often as
I went about among them, that no people ever gained their free-
dom without a baptism of fire."
Miss Breckinridge returned to St. Louis on a small hospital-
boat on which there were one hundred and sixty patients in care
of herself and one other lady. A few extracts from one of her
letters will show what brave work it gave her to do.
“It was on Sunday morning, 25th of January, that Mrs. C.
and I went on board the hospital boat which had received its sad
freight the day before, and was to leave at once for St. Louis,
and it would be impossible to describe the scene which presented
itself to me as I stood in the door of the cabin. Lying on the
floor, with nothing under them but a tarpaulin and their blankets,
were crowded fifty men, many of them with death written on
their faces; and looking through the half-open doors of the state-
rooms, we saw that they contained as many more. Young, boy-
ish faces, old and thin from suffering, great restless eyes that were
fixed on nothing, incoherent ravings of those who were wild with
fever, and hollow coughs on every side—this, and much more
that I do not want to recall, was our welcome to our new work;
but, as we passed between the two long rows, back to our own
cabin, pleasant smiles came to the lips of some, others looked
after us wonderingly, and one poor boy whispered, 'Oh, but it
is good to see the ladies come in! I took one long look into
Mrs. Cl's eyes to see how much strength and courage was hidden
in them. We asked each other, not in words, but in those fine
electric thrills by which one soul questions another, 'Can we

MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRIDGE.
195
sure.
bring strength, and hope, and comfort to these poor suffering
men?' and the answer was, “Yes, by God's help we will!' The
first thing was to give them something like a comfortable bed,
and, Sunday though it was, we went to work to run up our
sheets into bed-sacks. Every man that had strength enough to
stagger was pressed into the service, and by night most of them
had something softer than a tarpaulin to sleep on. 'Oh, I am
60 comfortable now! some of them said; “I think I can sleep
to-night,' exclaimed one little fellow, half-laughing with plea-
The next thing was to provide something that sick people
could eat, for coffee and bread was poor food for most of them.
We had two little stoves, one in the cabin and one in the cham-
bermaid's room, and here, the whole time we were on board, we
had to do the cooking for a hundred men. Twenty times that
day I fully made up my mind to cry with vexation, and twenty
times that day I laughed instead; and surely, a kettle of tea was
never made under so many difficulties as the one I made that
morning. The kettle lid was not to be found, the water simmered
and sang at its leisure, and when I asked for the poker I could
get nothing but an old bayonet, and, all the time, through the
half-open door behind me, I heard the poor hungry fellows ask-
ing the nurses, “Where is that tea the lady promised me?' or
'When will my toast come?' But there must be an end to all
things, and when I carried them their tea and toast, and heard
them pronounce it 'plaguey good,' and 'awful nice, it was more
than a recompense for all the worry.
"One great trouble was the intense cold. We could not keep
life in some of the poor emaciated frames. "Oh dear! I shall
freeze to death! one poor little fellow groaned, as I passed him.
Blankets seemed to have no effect upon them, and at last we had
to keep canteens filled with boiling water at their feet. * * * * *
“There was one poor boy about whom from the first I had
been very anxious. He drooped and faded from day to day
before my eyes. Nothing but constant stimulants seemed to keep

196
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
him alive, and, at last I summoned courage to tell him-oh, how
hard it was!—that he could not live many hours. "Are you
willing to die?' I asked him. He closed his eyes, and was silent
a moment; then came that passionate exclamation which I have
heard so often, ‘My mother, oh! my mother!' and, to the last,
though I believe God gave him strength to trust in Christ, and
willingness to die, he longed for his mother. I had to leave
him, and, not long after, he sent for me to come, that he was
dying, and wanted me to sing to him. He prayed for himself in
the most touching words; he confessed that he had been a wicked
boy, and then with one last message for that dear mother, turned
his face to the pillow and died; and so, one by one, we saw them
pass away, and all the little keepsakes and treasures they had
loved and kept about them, laid away to be sent home to those
they should never see again. Oh, it was heart-breaking to
see that!"
After the “sad freight” had reached its destination, and the
care and responsibility are over, true woman that she is, she
breaks down and cries over it all, but brightens up, and looking
back
upon it declares: “I certainly never had so much comfort
and satisfaction in anything in all my life, and the tearful thanks
of those who thought in their gratitude that they owed a great
deal more to us than they did, the blessings breathed from dying
lips, and the comfort it has been to friends at home to hear all
about the last sad hours of those they love, and know their dying
messages of love to them; all this is a rich, and full, and over-
flowing reward for any labor and for any sacrifice.” Again she
says: “There is a soldier's song of which they are very fond, one
verse of which often comes back to me:
“So I've had a sight of drilling,
And I've roughed it many days;
Yes, and death has nearly had me,
Yet, I think, the service pays.'
In leed it does,-richly, abundantly, blessedly, and I thank God

MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRIDGE.
197
that he has honored me by letting me do a little and suffer a little
for this grand old Union, and the dear, brave fellows who are
fighting for it.”
Early in March she returned to St. Louis, expecting to make
another trip down the river, but her work was nearly over, and
the seeds of disease sown in her winter's campaign were already
overmastering her delicate constitution. She determined to go
eastward for rest and recovery, intending to return in the
autumn and fix herself in one of the Western hospitals, where
she could devote herself to her beloved work while the war lasted.
At this time she writes to her Eastern friends: "I shall soon turn
my face eastward, and I have more and more to do as my time
here grows shorter. I have been at the hospital every day this
week, and at the Government rooms, where we prepare the
Government work for the poor women, four hundred of whom
we supply with work every week. I have also a family of refu-
gees to look after, so I do not lack employment."
Early in June, Miss Breckinridge reached Niagara on her way
to the East, where she remained for a month. For a year she
struggled against disease and weakness, longing all the time to be
at work again, making vain plans for the time when she should
be “well and strong, and able to go back to the hospitals.” With
this cherished scheme in view she went in the early part of May,
1864, into the Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia, that she might
acquire experience in nursing, especially in surgical cases, so that
in the autumn, she could begin her labor of love among the
soldiers more efficiently and confidently than before. She went
to work with her usual energy and promptness, following the
surgical nurse every day through the wards, learning the best
methods of bandaging and treating the various wounds. She
was not satisfied with merely seeing this done, but often washed
and dressed the wounds with her own hands, saying, “I shall be
able to do this for the soldiers when I get back to the army.'
The patients could not understand this, and would often expostu-

198
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
late, saying, “Oh no, Miss, that is not for the like of you to do!"
but she would playfully insist and have her way. Nor was she
satisfied to gain so much without giving something in return.
She went from bed to bed, encouraging the despondent, cheering
the weak and miserable, reading to them from her little Testa-
ment, and singing sweet hymns at twilight,—a ministering angel
here as well as on the hospital-boats on the Mississippi.
On the 2d of June she had an attack of erysipelas, which how-
ever was not considered alarming, and under which she was
patient and cheerful.
Then came news of the fighting before Richmond and of the
probability that her brother-in-law, Colonel Porter,* had fallen.
* This truly Christian hero, the son of General Peter A. Porter of Niagara
Falls, was one of those rare spirits, who surrounded by everything which could
make life blissful, were led by the promptings of a lofty and self-sacrificing
patriotism to devote their lives to their country. He was killed in the severe
battle of June 3, 1864. His first wife who had deceased some years before was
a sister of Margaret Breckinridge, and the second who survived him was her
cousin. One of the delegates of the Christian Commission writes concerning
him :-“Colonel Peter B. Porter, of Niagara Falls, commanding the 8th New
York heavy artillery, was killed within five or six rods of the rebel lines.
Seven wounds were found upon his body. One in his neck, one between his
shoulders, one on the right side, and lower part of the stomach, one on the left,
and near his heart, and two in his legs. The evening before he said, 'that if
the charge was made he would not come out alive; but that if required, he
would
The last words heard from him were: Boys, follow me. We
notice the following extract from his will, which was made before entering the
service, which shows the man:
“Feeling to its full extent the probability that I may not return from the path
of duty on which I have entered-if it please God that it be so—I can say with
truth I have entered on the career of danger with no ambitious aspirations, nor
with the idea that I am fitted by nature or experience to be of any important
service to the Government; but in obedience to the call of duty demanding
every citizen to contribute what he could in means, labor, or life to sustain the
government of his country; a sacrifice made, too, the more willingly by me
when I consider how singularly benefited I have been by the institutions of this
land, and that up to this time all the blessings of life have been showered upon
me beyond what falls usually to the lot of man."
go into it.'

MARGARET ELIZABETH BRECKINRILGE.
199
Her friends concealed it from her until the probability became a
sad certainty, and then they were obliged to reveal it to her.
The blow fell upon her with overwhelming force. One wild cry
of agony, one hour of unmitigated sorrow, and then she sweetly
and submissively bowed herself to the will of her Heavenly
Father, and was still; but the shock was too great for the wearied
body and the bereaved heart. Gathering up her small remnant
of strength and courage she went to Baltimore to join the afflicted
family of Colonel Porter, saying characteristically, “I can do
more good with them than anywhere else just now.” After a
week's rest in Baltimore she proceeded with them to Niagara,
bearing the journey apparently well, but the night after her arrival
she became alarmingly ill, and it was soon evident that she could
not recover from her extreme exhaustion and prostration. For
five weeks her life hung trembling in the balance, and then the
silver cord was loosed and she went to join her dear ones gone
before.
“Underneath are the everlasting arms,” she said to a friend
who bent anxiously over her during her sickness. Yes, “the
everlasting arms” upheld her in all her courageous hernic earthly
work; they cradle her spirit now in eternal rest.

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
MO
RS. BARKER is a lady of great refinement and high
culture, the sister of the Hon. William Whiting, late
Attorney-General of Massachusetts, and the wife of the
Rev. Stephen Barker, during the war, Chaplain of the
First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery.
This regiment was organized in July, 1861, as the Fourteenth
Massachusetts Infantry (but afterwards changed as above) under
the command of Colonel William B. Green, of Boston, and was
immediately ordered to Fort Albany, which was then an outpost
of defense guarding the Long Bridge over the Potomac, near
Washington.
Having resolved to share the fortunes of this regiment in the
service of its hospitals, Mrs. Barker followed it to Washington
in August, and remained in that city six months before suitable
quarters were arranged for her at the fort.
During her stay in Washington, she spent much of her time in
visiting hospitals, and in ministering to their suffering inmates.
Especially was this the case with the E. Street Infirmary, which
was destroyed by fire in the autumn of that year. After the fire
the inmates were distributed to other hospitals, except a few
whose wounds would not admit of a removal. These were col-
lected together in a small brick school-house, which stands on the
corner of the lot now occupied by the Judiciary Square Hospital,
and there was had the first Thar ksgiving Dinner which was
given in an army hospital.
200

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
201
After dinner, which was made as nice and home-like as possible,
they played games of checkers, chess, and backgammon on some
new boards presented from the supplies of the Sanitary Commis-
sion, and Mrs. Barker read aloud “The Cricket on the Hearth.”
This occupied all the afternoon and made the day seem so short
to these poor convalescents that they all confessed afterwards that
they had no idea, nor expectation that they could so enjoy a day
which they had hoped to spend at home; and they always remem-
bered and spoke of it with pleasure.
This was a new and entirely exceptiona' experience to Mrs.
Barker. Like all the ladies who have gone out as volunteer
nurses or helps in the hospitals, she had her whole duty to learn.
In this she was aided by a sound judgment, and an evident
natural capacity and executive ability. Without rules or instruc-
tions in hospital visiting, she had to learn by experience the best
methods of aiding sick soldiers without coming into conflict with
the regulations peculiar to military hospitals. Of course, no
useful work could be accomplished without the sanction and con-
fidence of the surgeons, and these could only be won by strict and
honorable obedience to orders.
The first duty was to learn what Government supplies could
properly be expected in the hospitals; next to be sure that where
wanting they were not withheld by the ignorance or carelessness
of the sub-officials; and lastly that the soldier was sincere and
reliable in the statement of his wants. By degrees these ques-
tions received their natural solution; and the large discretionary
power granted by the surgeons, and the generous confidence and
aid extended by the Sanitary Commission, in furnishing whatever
supplies she asked for, soon gave Mrs. Barker all the facilities
she desired for her useful and engrossing work.
In March, 1862, Mrs. Barker removed to Fort Albany, and
systematically commenced the work which had first induced her
to leave her home. This work was substantially the same that she
had done in Washington, but was confinect to the Regimental
26

202
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
I can-
Hospitals. But it was for many reasons pleasanter and more in-
teresting. As the wife of the Chaplain of the Regiment, the men
all recognized the fitness of her position, and she shared with him
all the duties, not strictly clerical, of his office, finding great hap-
piness in their mutual usefulness and sustaining power. She
also saw the same men oftener, and became better acquainted, and
more deeply interested in their individual conditions, and she had
here facilities at her command for the preparation of all the little
luxuries and delicacies demanded by special cases.
While the regiment held Fort Albany, and others of the forts
forming the defenses of Washington, the officers' quarters were
always such as to furnish a comfortable home, and Mrs. Barker
had, consequently, none of the exposures and hardships of those
who followed the army and labored in the field. As she, herself,
has written in a private letter—"It was no sacrifice to go to the
army, because my husband was in it, and it would have been
much harder to stay at home than to go with him.* * *
not even claim the merit of acting from a sense of duty-for I
wanted to work for the soldiers, and should have been desperately
disappointed had I been prevented from doing it.”
And so, with a high heart, and an unselfish spirit, which dis-
claimed all merit in sacrifice, and even the existence of the sacri-
fice, she entered upon and fulfilled to the end the arduous and
painful duties which devolved upon her.
For nearly two years she continued in unremitting attendance
nipon the regimental hospitals, except when briefly called home to
the sick and dying bed of her father.
All this time her dependence for hospital comforts was upon
the Sanitary Commission, for though the regiment was performing
the duties of a garrison it was not so considered by the War
Department, and the hospital received none of the furnishings it
would have been entitled to as a Post Hospital. Most of the
hospital bedding and clothing, as well as delicacies of diet came
from the Sanitary Commission, and a little money contributed

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
203
from private sources helped to procure the needed furniture.
Mrs. Barker found this “camp life” absorbing and interesting.
She became identified with the regiment and was accustomed to
speak of it as a part of herself. And even more closely and inti-
mately did she identify herself with her suffering patients in the
hospital.
On Sundays, while the chaplain was about his regular duties,
she was accustomed to have a little service of her own for the
patients, which mostly consisted in reading aloud a printed ser-
mon of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, which appeared in the
Weekly Traveller, and which was always listened to with eager
interest.
The chaplain's quarters were close by the hospital, and at any
hour of the day and till a late hour of the night Mr. and Mrs.
Barker could assure themselves of the condition and wants of any
of the patients, and be instantly ready to minister to them. Mrs.
Barker, especially, bore them continually in her thoughts, and
though not with them, her heart and time were given to the
work of consolation, either by adding to the comforts of the body
or the mind.
In January, 1864, it became evident to Mrs. Barker that she
could serve in the hospitals more effectually by living in Wash-
ington, than by remaining at Fort Albany. She therefore offered
her services to the Sanitary Commission without other compen-
sation than the expenses of her board, and making no stipulation
as to the nature of her duties, but only that she might remain
within reach of the regimental hospital, to which she had so long
been devoted.
Just at this time the Commission had determined to secure a
more sure and thorough personal distribution of the articles in-
tended for soldiers, and she was requested to become a visitor in
certain hospitals in Washington. It was desirable to visit bed-
sides, as before, but henceforth as a representative of the Sanitary
Commission, with a wider range of duties, and a proportionate

204
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
increase of facilities. Soldiers were complaining that they saw
nothing of the Sanitary Commission, when the shirts they wore,
the fruits they ate, the stationery they used, and numerous other
comforts from the Commission abounded in the hospitals. Mrs.
Barker found that she had only to refuse the thanks which she
constantly received, and refer them to the proper object, to see a
marked change in the feeling of the sick toward the Sanitary
Commission. And she was so fully convinced of the beneficial
results of this remarkable organization, that she found the greatest
pleasure in doing this.
In all other respects her work was unchanged. There was the
same need of cheering influences—the writing of letters and pro-
curing of books, and obtaining of information. There were the
thousand varied calls for sympathy and care which kept one con-
stantly on the keenest strain of active life, so that she came to feel
that no gift, grace, or accomplishment could be spared without
leaving something wanting of a perfect woman's work in the hos-
pitals.
Nine hospitals, in addition to the regimental hospital, which
she still thought of as her "own,” were assigned her. Of these
Harewood contained nearly as many patients as all the others.
During the summer of 1864, its wards and tents held twenty-
eight hundred patients. It was Mrs. Barker's custom to com-
mence here every Monday morning at the First Ward, doing all
she saw needful as she went along, and to go on as far as she
could before two o'clock, when she went to dinner. In the after-
noon she would visit one of the smaller hospitals, all of whose
inmates she could see in the course of one visit, and devote the
whole afternoon entirely to that hospital.
The next morning she would begin again at Harewood,
where she stopped the day before, doing all she could there, pre-
vious to two o'clock, and devoting the afternoon to a smaller hos-
pital. When Harewood was finished, tw. hospitals might be

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
205
visited in a day, and in this manner she would complete the entire
round weekly
It was not necessary to speak to every man, for on being recog-
nized as a Sanitary Visitor the men would tell her their wants,
and her eye was sufficiently practiced to discern where undue
shyness prevented any from speaking of them. An assistant
always went with her, who drove the horses, and who, by his
knowledge of German, was a great help in understanding the
foreign soldiers. They carried a variety of common articles with
then, so that the larger proportion of the wants could be supplied
on the spot. In this way a constant distribution was going on,
in all the hospitals of Washington, whereby the soldiers received
what was sent for them with certainty and promptness.
In the meantime the First Heavy Artillery had been ordered
to join the army before Petersburg. On the fourth day after it
left the forts round Washington, it lost two hundred men killed,
wounded and taken prisoners. As soon as the sick or wounded
men began to be sent back to Washington, Mrs. Barker was noti-
fied of it by her husband, and sought them out to make them the
objects of her special care.
At the same time the soldiers of this regiment, in the field,
were constantly confiding money and mementoes to Mr. Barker,
to be sent to Mrs. Barker by returning Sanitary Agents, and for-
warded by her to their families in New England. Often she gave
up the entire day to the preparation of these little packages for
the express, and to the writing of letters to each person who was
to receive a package, containing messages, and a request for a
reply when the money was received. Large as this business was,
she never entrusted it to any hands but her own, and though she
sent over two thousand dollars in small
sums,
and numerous
mementoes, she never lost an article of all that were transmitted
by express.
But whatever she had on hand, it was, at this time, an especial
duty to attend to any person who desired a more thorough under-

206
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
standing of the work of hospitals; and many days were thus
spent with strangers who had no other means of access to the
information they desired, except through one whose time could
be given to such purposes.
These somewhat minute details of Mrs. Barker's labors are
given as being peculiar to the department of service in which she
worked, and to which she so conscientiously devoted herself for
such a length of time.
In this way she toiled on until December, 1864, when a request
was made by the Women's Central Association that a hospital
visitor might be sent to the Soldiers' Aid Societies in the State
of New York. Few of these had ever seen a person actually
engaged in hospital work, and it was thought advisable to assure
them that their labors were not only needed, but that their results
really reached and benefited the sick soldiers.
Mrs. Barker was chosen as this representative, and the pro-
gramme included the services of Mr. Barker, whose regiment was
now mustered out of service, as a lecturer before general audi-
ences, while Mrs. Barker met the Aid Societies in the same
places. During the month of December, 1864, Mr. and Mrs.
Barker, in pursuance of this plan, visited Harlem, Brooklyn,
Astoria, Hastings, Irvington, Rhinebeck, Albany, Troy, Rome,
Syracuse, Auburn, and Buffalo, presenting the needs of the sol-
dier, and the benefits of the work of the Sanitary Commission to
the people generally, and to the societies in particular, with great
acceptance, and to the ultimate benefit of the cause. This tour
accomplished, Mrs. Barker returned to her hospital work in
Washington.
After the surrender of Lee's army, Mrs. Barker visited Rich-
mond and Petersburg, and as she walked the deserted streets of
those fallen cities, she felt that her work was nearly done.
Almost four years, in storm and in sunshine, in heat and in cold,
in hope and in discouragement she had ceaselessly toiled on, and

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER
207
all along her path were strewed the blessings of thousands of
grateful hearts.
The increasing heats of summer warned her that she could not
with stand the influences of another season of hard work in a warm
clinate, and on the day of the assassination of President Lincoln,
she left Washington for Boston.
Mrs. Barker had been at home about six weeks when a new
call for effort came, on the return of the Army of the Potomac
encamped around Washington previous to its final march for
home. To it was presently added the Veterans of Sherman's
grand march, and all were in a state of destitution. The follow-
ing extract from the Report of the Field Relief Service of the United
States Sanitary Commission with the Armies of the Potomac, Georgia,
and Tennessee, in the Department of Washington, May and June,
1865, gives a much better idea of the work required than conld
otherwise be presented.
“Armies, the aggregate strength of which must have exceeded
two hundred thousand men, were rapidly assembling around this
city, previous to the grand review and their disbandment. These
men were the travel-worn veterans of Sherman, and the battle-
stained heroes of the glorious old Army of the Potomac, men of
whom the nation is already proud, and whom history will teach
our children to venerate. Alas! that veterans require more than
'field rations;' that heroes will wear out or throw away their
clothes, or become diseased with scurvy or chronic diarrhoea.
“The Army of the West had marched almost two thousand
miles, subsisting from Atlanta to the ocean almost wholly upon
the country through which it passed. When it entered the des-
titute regions of North Carolina and Virginia it became affected
with scorbutic diseases. A return to the ordinary marching
rations gave the men plenty to eat, but no vegetables. Nor had
foraging put them in a condition to bear renewed privation.
"The Commissary Department issued vegetables in such sma!!
quantities that they did not affect the condition of the troops in

208
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
any appreciable degree. Surgeons immediately sought the Sani-
tary Commission. The demand soon became greater than the
supply. At first they wanted nothing but vegetables, for having
these, they said, all other discomforts would become as nothing.
“After we had secured an organization through the return of
agents and the arrival of transportation, a division of labor was
made, resulting ultimately in three departments, more or less dis-
tinct. These were:
“First, the supply of vegetables;
“Second, the depots for hospital and miscellaneous supplies;
and,
“Third, the visitation of troops for the purpose of direct distri-
bution of small articles of necessity or comfort.”
These men, war-worn-and many of them sick-veterans, were
without
money, often in rags, or destitute of needful clothing, and
they were not to be paid until they were mustered out of the
service in their respective States. Generous, thorough and rapid
distribution was desirable, and all the regular hospital visitors, as
well as others temporarily employed in the work, entered upor
the duties of field distribution. In twenty days, such was tho
system and expedition used, every regiment, and all men on de-
tached duty, had been visited and supplied with necessaries on
their camping grounds; and frequent expressions of gratitude
from officers and men, attested that a great work had been suc-
cessfully accomplished.
This was the conclusion of Mrs. Barker's army work, and what
it was, how thorough, kind, and every way excellent we cannot
better tell than by appending to this sketch her own report to the
Chief of Field Relief Corps.
“WASHINGTON, D. C., June 29, 1805.
“A. M. SPERRY—Sir: It was my privilege to witness the advance of the
army in the spring of 1862, and the care of soldiers in camp and hospita}
having occupied all my time since then, it was therefore gratifying to close my
labors by welcoming the returning army to the same camping grounds it left
fow years ago. The circumstances under which it went forth and returned

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
209
were so unlike, the contrast between our tremulous farewell and our exultant
welcome so extreme, that it has been difficult to find an expression suited to
the hour. The Sanitary Commission adopted the one method by which alone
it could give for itself this expression. It sent out its agents to visit every
regiment and all soldiers on detached duty, to ascertain and relieve their wants,
and by words and acts of kindness to assure them of the deep and heartfelt gra-
titude of the nation for their heroic sufferings and achievements.
“The Second, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and
Twentieth army corps have been encamped about the capital. They numbered
over two hundred thousand men.
“Our first work was to establish stations for sanitary stores in the camps,
wherever it was practicable, to which soldiers might come for the supply of
their wants without the trouble of getting passes into Washington. Our Field
Relief Agents, who have followed the army from point to point, called on the
officers to inform them of our storehouse for supplies of vegetables and pickles.
The report of the Superintendent of Field Relief will show how great a work
has been done for the army in these respects. How great has been the need of
a full and generous distribution of the articles of food and clothing may be
realized by the fact, that here were men unpaid for the last six months, and yet
to remain so till mustered out of the service in their respective States; whose
government accounts were closed, with no sutlers in their regiments, and no
credit anywhere. Every market-day, numbers of these war-worn veterans have
been seen asking for some green vegetable from the tempting piles, which were
forbidden fruits to them.
"In order to make our work in the army as thorough, rapid, and effective as
possible, it was decided to accept the services of the 'Hospital Visitors.' They
have been at home in the hospitals ever since the war began, but never in the
camp. But we believed that even here they would be safe, and the gifts they
brought would be more valued because brought by them.
"Six ladies have been employed by the Sanitary Commission as Hospital
Visitors. These were temporarily transferred from their hospitals to the field.
"The Second and Fifth Corps were visited by Mrs. Steel and Miss Abby
Francis,
"The Sixth Corps by Mrs. Johnson, Miss Armstrong, and Mrs. Barker; on
in each division.
"The Ninth Corps by Miss Wallace, whose illness afterward obliged her to
yield her place to Mrs. Barker.
“The Fourteenth Corps by Miss Armstrong.
"The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps by ladies belonging to those corps-
Mrs. Porter and Mrs. Bickerdyke-whose Imirable services rendered other
presence superfluous.
27

210
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
“The Twentieth Corps was visited by Mrs. Johnson.
“The articles selected for their distribution were the same for all the corps,
while heavy articles of food and clothing were issued by orders from the field
agents, smaller articles—like towels, handkerchiefs, stationery, sewing mate-
rials, combs, reading matter, etc.—were left to the ladies.
“This division of labor has been followed, except in cases where no field
agent accompanied the lady, and there was no sanitary station in the corps.
Then the lady agent performed double duty. She was provided with a vehicle,
and followed by an army wagon loaded with supplies sufficient for her day's
distribution, which had been drawn from the Commission storehouse upon a
requisition approved by the chief clerk. On arriving at the camp, her first call
was at headquarters, to obtain permission to distribute her little articles, to
learn how sick the men were, in quarters or in hospital, and to find out the
numbers in each company. The ladies adopted two modes of issuing supplies:
some called for the entire company, giving into each man's hand the thing he
needed; others gave to the orderly sergeant of each company the same propor-
tion of each article, which he distributed to the men. The willing help and
heartfelt pleasure of the officers in distributing our gifts among their men have
added much to the respect and affection already felt for them by the soldiers and
their friends.
“In Mrs. Johnson's report of her work in the Twentieth Army Corps, she says:
'In several instances officers have tendered the thanks of their regiments, when
they were so choked by tears as to render their voices unheard.'
"I remember no scenes in camp more picturesque than some of our visits
have presented. The great open army wagon stands under some shade-tree,
with the officer who has volunteered to help, or the regular Field Agent, stand-
ing in the midst of boxes, bales, and bundles. Wheels, sides, and every pro-
jecting point are crowded with eager soldiers, to see what 'the Sanitary' has
brought for them. By the side of the great wagon stands the light wagon of
the lady, with its curtains all rolled up, while she arranges before and around
her the supplies she is to distribute. Another eager crowd surrounds her,
patient, kind, and respectful as the first, except that a shade more of softness in
their look and tone attest to the ever-living power of woman over the rough
elements of manhood. In these hours of personal communication with the
soldier, she finds the true meaning of her work. This is her golden opportu-
nity, when by look, and tone, and movement she may call up, as if by magic,
the
pure influences of home, which may have been long banished by the hard
necessities of war. Quietly and rapidly the supplies are handed out for Com-
panies A. B, C., etc., first from one wagon, then the other, and as soon as a
regiment is completed the men hurry back to their tents to receive their share,
and write letters on the newly received paper, or apply the long needed comb,

MRS. STEPHEN BARKER.
211
or mend the gaping seams in their now 'historic garments.' When at last the
supplies are exhausted, and sunset reminds us that we are yet many miles from
home, we gather up the remnants, bid good by to the friendly faces which
already seem like old acquaintances, promising to come again to visit new regi-
ments to-morrow, and hurry home to prepare for the next day's work.
“Every day, from the first to the twentieth day of June, our little band of
missionaries has repeatel a day's work such as I have now described. Every
regiment, except some which were sent home before we were able to reach
them, has shared alike in what we had to give. And I think I speak for all in
saying that among the many pleasant memories connected with our sanitary
work, the last but not the least will be our share in the Field Relief.
“Yours respectfully,
“MRS. STEPHEN BARKER."

AMY M. BRADLEY.
V
ERY few individuals in our country are entirely igno-
rant of the beneficent work performed by the Sanitary
Commission during the late war; and these, perhaps,
are the only ones to whom the name of Amy M. Brad-
ley is unfamiliar. Very early in the war she commenced her
work for the soldiers, and did not discontinue it until some months
after the last battle was fought, completing fully her four years
of service, and making her name a synonym for active, judicious,
earnest work from the beginning to the end.
Amy M. Bradley is a native of East Vassalboro', Kennebec
County, Maine, where she was born September 12th, 1823, the
youngest child of a large family, At six years of age she met
with the saddest of earthly losses, in the death of her mother.
From early life it would appear to have been her lot to make her
way. in life by her own active exertions. Her father ceased to
keep house on the marriage of his older daughters, and from that
time until she was fifteen she lived alternately with them. Then
she made her first essay in teaching a small private school.
At sixteen she commenced life as a teacher of public schools,
and continued the same for more than ten years, or until 1850.
To illustrate her determined and persistent spirit during the
first four years of her life as a teacher she taught country schools
during the sunimer and winter, and during the spring and fall
attended the academy in her native town, working for her board
in private families.
212

AMY M. BRADLEY,
213
At the age of twenty-one, through the influence of Noah
Woods, Esq., she obtained an appointment as principal of one of
the Grammar Schools in Gardiner, Maine, where she remained
until the fall of 1847. At the end of that time she resigned and
accepted an appointment as assistant in the Winthrop Grammar
School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, obtained for her by her
cousin, Stacy Baxter, Esq., the principal of the Harvard Gram-
mar School in the same city. There she remained until the
winter of 1849–50, when she applied for a similar situation in
the Putnam Grammar School, East Cambridge (where higher
salaries were paid) and was successful. She remained, however,
only until May, when a severe attack of acute bronchitis so pros-
trated her strength as to quite unfit her for her duties during the
whole summer.
She had previously suffered repeatedly from
pneumonia. Her situation was held for her until the autumn,
when finding her health not materially improved, she resigned
and prepared to spend the winter at the South in the family of a
brother residing at Charleston, South Carolina.
Miss Bradley returned from Charleston the following spring.
Her winter in the South had not benefited her as she had hoped
and expected, and she found herself unable to rest me her occupa-
tion as a teacher.
During the next two years her active spirit chafed in forced
idleness, and life became almost a burden. In the autumn of
1853, going to Charlestown and Cambridge to visit friends, she
met the physician who had attended her during the severe illness
that terminated her teacher-life. He examined her lungs, and
gave it as his opinion that only a removal to a warmer climate
could preserve her life through another winter, and that the fol-
lowing months of frost and cold spent in the North must undoubt-
edly in her case develop pulmonary consumption.
To her these were words of doom. Not possessed of the means
for travelling, and unable, as she supposed, to obtain a livelihood

214.
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
in a far off country, she returned to Maine, and resigned herself
with what calmness she might, to the fate in store for her.
But Providence liad not yet developed the great work to which
she was appointed, and though sorely tried, and buffeted, she
was not to be permitted to leave this mortal scene until the objects
of her life were fulfilled. Through resignation to death she was.
perhaps, best prepared to live, and even in that season when earth
seemed receding from her view, the wise purposes of the Ruler of
all in her behalf were being worked out in what seemed to be an
accidental manner.
In the family of her cousin, Mr. Baxter, at Charlestown, Mas-
sachusetts, there had been living, for two years, three Spanish
boys from Costa Rica, Central America. Mr. Baxter was an
instructor of youth and they were his pupils. About this period
their father arrived to fetch home a daughter who was at school
in New York, and to inquire what progress these boys were
making in their studies. He applied to Mr. Baxter to recom-
mend some lady who would be willing to go to Costa Rica for
two or three years to instruct his daughters in the English lan-
guage. Mr. Baxter at once recommended Miss Bradley as a
suitable person and as willing and desirous to undertake the
journey. The situation was offered and accepted, and in Novem-
ber, 1853, she set sail for Costa Rica.
After remaining a short time with the Spanish family, she
accepted a proposition from the American Consul, and accompa-
nied his family to San Josè, the Capital, among the mountains,
bome seventy miles from Punta Arenas, where she opened a
school receiving as pupils, English, Spanish, German, and Ame-
rican children. This was the first English school established in
Central America. For three months she taught from a black-
board, and at the end of that time received from New York,
books, maps, and all the needful apparatus for a permanent
school.
This school she taught with success for three years. At the

AMY M. BRADLEY.
215
end of that time learning that the health of her father, then
eighty-three years of age, was rapidly declining, and that he was
unwilling to die without seeing her, she disposed of the property
and "good-will” of her school, and as soon as possible bade adieu
to Costa Rica. She reached home on the 1st of June, 1857,
after an absence of nearly four years. Her father, however, sur-
vived for several months.
Her health which had greatly improved during her stay in the
salubrious climate of San Josè, where the temperature ranges at
about 70° Fahrenheit the entire year, again yielded before the frosty
rigors of a winter in the Pine Tree State, and for a long time she
was forced to lead a very secluded life. She devoted herself to
reading, to the study of the French and German languages, and
to teaching the Spanish, of which she had become mistress during
her residence in Costa Rica.
In the spring of 1861, she went to East Cambridge, where she
obtained the situation of translator for the New England Glass
Company, translating commercial letters from English to Spanish,
or from Spanish to English as occasion required.
This she would undoubtedly have found a pleasant and profit-
able occupation, but the boom of the first gun fired at Sumter
upon the old flag stirred to a strange restlessness the spirit of the
granddaughter of one who starved to death on board the British
Prison Ship Jersey, during the revolution. She felt the earnest
desire, but saw not the way to personal action, until the first
disastrous battle of Bull Run prompted her to immediate effort.
She wrote to Dr. G. S. Palmer, Surgeon of the Fifth Regiment
Maine Volunteers, an old and valued friend, to offer her services
in caring for the sick and wounded. His reply was quaint and
characteristic. “There is no law at this end of the route, to pre-
vent your coming; but the law of humanity requires your imme-
diate presence."
As soon as possible she started for the seat of war, and on the

216
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
1st of September, 1861, commenced her services as nurse in the
hospital of the Fifth Maine Regiment.
The regiment had been enlisted to a great extent from the
vicinity of Gardiner, Maine, where, as we have said, she had
taught for several years, and among the soldiers both sick and
well were a number of her old pupils.
The morning after her arrival, Dr. Palmer called at her tent,
and invited her to accompany him through the hospital tents.
There were four of these, filled with fever cases, the result of
exposure and hardship at and after the battle of Bull Run.
In the second tent, were a number of patients delirious from
the fever, whom the surgeon proposed to send to Alexandria, to
the General Hospital. To one of these she spoke kindly, asking
if he would like to have anything; with a wild look, and evi-
dently impressed with the idea that he was about to be ordered
on a long journey, he replied, “I would like to see my mother
and sisters before I go home.” Miss Bradley was much affected
by his earnestness, and seeing that his recovery was improbable,
begged Dr. Palmer to let her care for him for his mother and
sisters' sake, until he went to his last home. He consented, and
she soon installed herself as nurse of most of the fever cases,
several of them her old pupils. From morning till night she
was constantly employed in ministering to these poor fellows, and
her skill in nursing was often of more service to them than medi-
cine.
Colonel Oliver 0. Howard, the present Major-General and
Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, had been up to the end of
September, 1861, in command of the Fifth Maine Regiment, but
at that time was promoted to the command of a brigade, and Dr.
Palmer was advanced to the post of brigade surgeon, while Dr.
Brickett succeeded to the surgeoncy of the Fifth Regiment.
By dint of energy, tact and management, Miss Bradley had
brought the hospital into fine condition, having received cots from
friends in Maine, and supplies of delicacies and hospital clothing

AMY M. BRADLEY.
217
from the Sanitary Commission. General Slocum, the new brigade
commander, early in October made his first round of inspection
of the regimental hospitals of the brigade. He found Dr. Brick-
ett's far better arranged and supplied than any of the others, and
inquired why it was so. Dr. Brickett answered that they had a
Maine woman who understood the care of the sick, to take charge
of the hospital, and that she had drawn supplies from the Sani-
tary Commission. General Slocum declared that he could have
no partiality in his brigade, and proposed to take two large build-
ings, the Powell House and the Octagon House, as hospitals, and
instal Miss Bradley as lady superintendent of the Brigade Hos-
pital. This was done forth with, and with further aid from the
Sanitary Commission, as the Medical Bureau had not yet made
any arrangement for brigade hospitals, Miss Bradley assisted by
the zealous detailed nurses from the brigade soon gave these two
houses a decided “home” appearance. The two buildings would
accommodate about seventy-five patients, and were soon filled.
Miss Bradley took a personal interest in each case, as if they were
her own brothers, and by dint of skilful nursing raised many of
them from the grasp of death.
A journal which she kept of her most serious cases, illustrates
very forcibly her deep interest and regard for all “her dear boys”
as she called them. She would not give them up, even when the
surgeon pronounced their cases hopeless, and though she could
not always save them from death, she undoubtedly prolonged life
in many instances by her assiduous nursing.
On the 10th of March, 1862, Centreville, Virginia, having
been evacuated by the rebels, the brigade to which Miss Bradley
was attached were ordered to occupy it, and five days later the
Brigade Hospital was broken up and the patients distributed, part
to Alexandria, and part to Fairfax Seminary General Hospital.
In the early part of April Miss Bradley moved with the division
to Warrenton Junction, and after a week's stay in and about
Manassas the order came to return to Alexandria and embark for
28

218
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Yorktown. Returning to Washington, she now offered her ser-
vices to the Sanitary Commission, and on the 4th of May was
summoned by a telegraphic despatch from Mr. F. L. Olmstead,
the energetic and efficient Secretary of the Commission, to come ai
once to Yorktown. On the 6th of May she reached Fortress
Monroe, and on the 7th was assigned to the Ocean Queen as lady
superintendent. We shall give some account of her labors here
when we come to speak of the Hospital Transport service. Suffice
it to say, in this place that her services which were very arduous,
were continued either on the hospital ships or on the shore until
the Army of the Potomac left the Peninsula for Acquia Creek and
Alexandria, and that in several instances her kindness to wounded
rebel officers and soldiers, led them to abandon the rebel service
and become hearty, loyal Union men. She accompanied the flag
of truce boat three times, when the Union wounded were exchanged,
and witnessed some painful scenes, though the rebel authorities
had not then begun to treat our prisoners with such cruelty as
they did later in the war. Early in August she accompanied the
sick and wounded men on the steamers from Harrison's Landing
to Philadelphia, where they were distributed among the hospitals.
During all this period of hospital transport service, she had had
the assistance of that noble, faithful, worker Miss Annie Ethe-
ridge, the “Gentle Annie” of the Third Michigan regiment, of
whom we shall have more to say in another place. For a few
days, after the transfer of the troops to the vicinity of Washing-
ton, Miss Bradley remained unoccupied, and endeavored by rest
and quiet to recover her health, which had been much impaired
by her severe labors.
A place was, however, in preparation for her, which, while it
would bring her less constantly in contact with the fearful wounds
and terrible sufferings of the soldiers in the field, would require
more administrative ability and higher business qualities than she
had yet been called to exercise.
The Sanitary Commission in their desire to do what they could

AMY M. BRADLEY.
219
for the soldier, had planned the establishment of a Home at
Washington, where the private soldier could go and remain for a
few days while awaiting orders, without being the prey of the
unprincipled villains who neglected no opportunity of fleecing
every man connected with the army, whom they could entice into
their dens; where those who were recovering from serious illness
or wounds could receive the care and attention they needed;
where their clothing often travel-stained and burdened with the
"Sacred Soil of Virginia,” could be exchanged for new, and the
old washed, cleansed and repaired. It was desirable that this
Home should be invested with a “home” aspect; that books, news-
papers and music should be provided, as well as wholesome and
attractive food, and that the presence of woman and her kindly
and gentle ministrations, should exert what influence they might
to recall vividly to the soldier the home he had left in a distant
state, and to quicken its power of influencing him to higher and
purer conduct, and more earnest valor, to preserve the institutions
which had made that home what it was.
Rev. F. N. Knapp, the Assistant Secretary of the Commission,
on whom devolved the duty of establishing this Home, had had
opportunity of observing Miss Bradley's executive ability in the
Hospital Transport Service, as well as in the management of a
brigade hospital, and he selected her at once, to take charge of
the Home, arrange all its details, and act as its Matron. She
accepted the post, and performed its duties admirably, accommo-
dating at times a hundred and twenty at once, and by her neat-
ness, good order and cheerful tact, dispensing happiness among
those who, poor fellows, had hitherto found little to cheer them.
But her active and energetic nature was not satisfied with her
work at the Soldiers' Home. Her leisure hours, (and with her
prompt business habits, she secured some of these every day),
were consecrated to visiting the numerous hospitals in and around
Washington, and if she found the surgeons or assistant surgeons
negligent and inattentive, they were promptly reported to the

220
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
medical director. The condition of the hospitals in the city was,
huwever, much better than that of the hospitals and convalescent
camps over the river, in Virginia. A visit which she made to
one of these, significantly named by the soldiers, "Camp Misery,"
in September, 1862, revealed to her, wretchedness, suffering and
neglect, such as she had not before witnessed; and she proinptly
secured from the Sanitary Commission such supplies as were
needed, and in her frequent visits there for the next three months,
distributed them with her own hands, while she encouraged and
promoted such changes in the management and arrangements of
the camp as greatly improved its condition.
This “ Camp Misery” was the original Camp of Distribution,
to which were sent, 1st, men discharged from all the hospitals
about Washington, as well as the regimental, brigade, division
and post hospitals, as convalescent, or as unfit for duty, prepara-
tory to their final discharge from the army; 2d, stragglers and
deserters, recaptured and collected here preparatory to being for-
warded to their regiments; 3d, new recruits awaiting orders to
join regiments in the field. Numerous attempts had been made
to improve the condition of this camp, but owing to the small
number and inefficiency of the officers detailed to the command,
it had constantly grown worse. The convalescents, numbering
nine or ten thousand, were lodged, in the depth of a very severe
winter, in wedge and Sibley tents, without floors, with no fires, or
means of making any, amid deep mud or frozen clods, and were
very poorly supplied with clothing, and many of them without
blankets. Under such circumstances, it was not to be expected
that their health could improve. The stragglers and deserters
and the new recruits were even worse off than the convales-
cents. The assistant surgeon and his acting assistants, up to the
last of October, 1862, were too inexperienced to be competent for
their duties.
In December, 1862, orders were issued by the Government for
the construction of a new Rendezvous of Distribution, at a point

AMY M. BRADLEY.
221
As we
near Fort Barnard, Virginia, on the Loudon and Hampshire
Railroad, the erection of new and more comfortable barracks, and
the removal of the men from the old camp to it. The barracks
for the convalescents were fifty in number and intended for the
accommodation of one hundred men each, and they were com-
pleted in February, 1863, and the new regulations and the ap-
pointment of new and efficient officers, greatly improved the
condition of the Rendezvous.
In December, 1862, while the men were yet in Camp Misery,
Miss Bradley was sent there as the Special Relief Agent of the
Sanitary Commission, and took up her quarters there.
have said the condition of the men was deplorable. She ar-
rived on the 17th of December, and after setting up her tents,
and arranging her little hospital, cook-room, store-room, wash-
room, bath-room, and office, so as to be able to serve the men
most effectually, she passed round with the officers, as the men
were drawn up in line for inspection, and supplied seventy-five
men with woollen shirts, giving only to the very needy. In
her hospital tents she soon had forty patients, all of them men
who had been discharged from the hospitals as well; these were
washed, supplied with clean clothing, warmed, fed and nursed.
Others had discharge papers awaiting them, but were too feeble
to stand in the cold and wet till their turn came.
She obtained
them for them, and sent the poor invalids to the Soldiers' Home
in Washington, en route for their own homes. From May 1st to
December 31st, 1863, she conveyed more than two thousand dis-
charged soldiers from the Rendezvous of Distribution to the
Commission's Lodges at Washington; most of them men suffer-
ing from incurable disease, and who but for her kind ministrations
must most of them have perished in the attempt to reach their
homes. In four months after she commenced her work she had
had in her little hospital one hundred and thirty patients, of whom
fifteen died. For these patients as well as for other invalids who
were unab e to write she wrote letters to their friends, and to the

222
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
friends of the dead she sent full accounts of the last hours of
their lost ones. The discharged men, and many of those who
were on record unjustly as deserters, through some informality in
their papers, often found great difficulty in obtaining their pay,
and sometimes could not ascertain satisfactorily how much was
due them, in consequence of errors on the part of the regimental
or company officers. Miss Bradley was indefatigable in her
efforts to secure the correction of these papers, and the prompt
payment of the amounts due to these poor men, many of whom,
but for her exertion, would have suffered on their arrival at their
distant homes. Between May 1st and December 31st, 1863, she
procured the reinstatement of one hundred and fifty soldiers who
had been dropped from their muster rolls unjustly as deserters,
and secured their arrears of pay to them, amounting in all to
nearly eight thousand dollars.
On the 8th of February, 1864, the convalescents were, by
general orders from the War Department, removed to the general
hospitals in and about Washington, and the name changed from
Camp Distribution to Rendezvous of Distribution, and only strag-
glers and deserters, and the recruits awaiting orders, or other men
fit for duty were to be allowed there. For nearly two months
Miss Bradley was confined to her quarters by severe illness. On
her recovery she pushed forward an enterprise on which she had
set her heart, of establishing a weekly paper at the Rendezvous,
to be called “The Soldiers' Journal,” which should be a medium
of contributions from all the more intelligent soldiers in the camp, ,
and the profits from which (if any accrued), should be devoted to
the relief of the children of deceased soldiers. On the 17th of
February the first number of “The Soldiers' Journal" appeared,
a quarto sheet of eight pages; it was conducted with considerable
apility and was continued till the breaking up of the Rendezvous and
hospital, August 22, 1865, just a year and a half. The profits of the
paper were twenty-one hundred and fifty-five dollars and seventy-
five cents, beside the value of the printing-press and materials,

AMY M. BRADLEY.
223
which amount was held for the benefit of orphans of soldiers who
had been connected with the camp, and was increased by contri-
butions from other sources. Miss Bradley, though the proprietor,
was not for any considerable period the avowed editor of the
paper, Mr. R. A. Cassidy, and subsequently Mr. Thomas V.
Cooper, acting in that capacity, but she was a large contributor to
its columns, and her poetical contributions which appeared in
almost every number, indicated deep emotional sensibilities, and
considerable poetic talent. Aside from its interesting reading
matter, the Journal gave instructions to the soldiers in relation to
the procurement of the pay and clothing to which they were enti-
tled; the requisites demanded by the government for the granting
of furloughs; and the method of procuring prompt settlement of
their accounts with the government without the interference of
claim agents. During the greater part of 1864, and in 1865, until
the hospital was closed, Miss Bradley, in addition to her other
duties, was Superintendent of Special Diet to the Augur Genera!
Hospital, and received and forwarded from the soldiers to their
friends, about forty-nine hundred and twenty-five dollars.
The officers and soldiers of the Rendezvous of Distribution
were not forgetful of the unwearied labors of Miss Bradley for
their benefit. On the 22d of February, 1864, she was presented
with an elegant gold watch and chain, the gift of the officers and
private soldiers of Camp Convalescent, then just broken up. The
gift was accompanied with a very appropriate address from the
chaplain of the camp, Rev. William J. Potter. She succeeded in
winning the regard and esteem of all with whom she was asso-
ciated. When, in August, 1865, she retired from the service of The
Sanitary Commission, its secretary, John S. Blatchford, Esq., ad-
dressed her in a letter expressive of the high sense the Commission
entertained of her labors, and the great good she had accomplished,
and the Treasurer of the Commission forwarded her a check as
for salary for so much of the year 1865 as was passed, to enable her
to take the rest and relaxation from continuous labor which she

224
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
so greatly needed. In person Miss Bradley is small, erect, and
possesses an interesting and attractive face, thoughtful, and giving
evidence in the lines of the mouth and chin, of executive ability,
energy and perseverance. Her manners are easy, graceful and
winning, and she evinces in a marked degree the possession of
that not easily described talent, of which our record furnishes
numerous examples, which the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table
calls “ faculty.”

MRS. ARABELLA G. BARLOW.
ROMANTIC interest encircles the career of this bril-
liant and estimable lady, which is saddened by her
early doom, and the grief of her young husband
bereaved before Peace had brought him that quiet
domestic felicity for which he doubtless longed.
Arabella Griffith was born in Somerville, New Jersey, but was
brought up and educated under the care of Miss Eliza Wallace
of Burlington, New Jersey, who was a relative upon her father's
side. As she grew up she developed remarkable powers. Those
who knew her well, both as relatives and in the social circle,
speak of her warm heart, her untiring energy, her brilliant con-
versational powers, and the beauty and delicacy of thought which
marked her contributions to the press. By all who knew her she
was regarded as a remarkable woman.
That she was an ardent patriot, in more than words, who can
doubt? She sealed her devotion to her country's cause by the
sublimest sacrifices of which woman is capable-sacrifices in which
she never faltered even in the presence of death itself.
Arabella Griffith was a young and lovely woman,
and lovely woman, the brilliant
centre of a large and admiring circle. Francis C. Barlow was a
rising young lawyer with a noble future opening before him.
These two were about to unite their destinies in the marriage rela-
tion.
Into the midst of their joyful anticipations, came the echoes of
the first shot fired by rebellion. The country sprang to arms
29
225

226
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
These ardent souls were not behind their fellow-countrymen and
country women in their willingness to act and to suffer for the land
and the Government they loved.
On the 19th of April, 1861, Mr. Barlow enlisted as a private
in the Twelfth Regiment New York Militia. On the 20th of
April they were married, and on the 21st Mr. Barlow left with
his regiment for Washington.
In the course of a week Mrs. Barlow followed her husband,
and remained with him at Washington, and at Harper's Ferry,
where the Twelfth was presently ordered to join General Patter-
son's command, until its return home, August 1st, 1861.
In November, 1861, Mr. Barlow re-entered the service, as
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sixty-first New York Volunteers, and
Mrs. Barlow spent the winter with him in camp near Alexandria,
Virginia. She shrank from no hardship which it was his lot to
encounter, and was with him, to help, to sustain, and to cheer
him, whenever it was practicable for her to be so, and neglected
no opportunity of doing good to others which presented itself.
Colonel Barlow made the Peninsular Campaign in the spring
and summer of 1862 under McClellan. After the disastrous
retreat from before Richmond, Mrs. Barlow joined the Sanitary
Commission, and reached Harrison's Landing on the 2d of July,
1862.
Exhausted, wounded, sick and dying men were arriving there
by scores of thousands—the remnants of a great army, broken by
a series of terrible battles, disheartened and well-nigh demoralized.
Many of the best and noblest of our American women were there
in attendance, ready to do their utmost amidst all the hideous
sights, and fearful sufferings of the hospitals, for these sick, and
maimed, and wounded men. Mrs. Barlow remained, doing an
untold amount of work, and good proportionate, until the army
left in the latter part of August.
Soon after, with short space for rest, she rejoined her husband
in the field during the campaign in Maryland, but was obliged to

MRS. ARABELLA GRIFFITH BARLOW.
227
go north upon business, and was detained and unable to return
until the day following the battle of Antietam.
She found her husband badly wounded, and of course her first
efforts were for him. She nursed him tenderly and unremittingly,
giving such assistance as was possible in her rare leisure to the
other wounded. We cannot doubt that even then she was very
useful, and with her accustomed energy and activity, made these
spare moments of great avail.
General Barlow was unfit for further service until the following
spring. His wife remained in attendance upon him through the
winter of 1862–3, and in the spring accompanied him to the
field, and made the campaign with him from Falmouth to Gettys-
burg.
At this battle her husband was again severely wounded. He
was within the enemy's lines, and it was only by great effort and
exposure that she was able to have him removed within our own.
She remained here, taking care of him, and of the other wounded,
during the dreadful days that followed, during which the suffer-
ings of the wounded from the intense heat, and the scarcity of
medical and other supplies were almost incredible, and altogether
indescribable. It was after this battle that the efficient aid, and
the generous supplies afforded by the Sanitary Commission and
its agents, were so conspicuous, and the results of this beneficent
organization in the saving of life and suffering perhaps more dis-
tinctly seen than on any other occasion. Mrs. Barlow, aside from
her own special and absorbing interest in her husband's case,
found time to demonstrate that she had imbibed its true spirit.
Again, through a long slow period of convalescence she watched
beside her husband, but the spring of 1864 found her in the field
prepared for the exigencies of Grant's successful campaign of that
year.
At times she was with General Barlow in the trenches before
Petersburg, but on the eve of the fearful battles of the Wilder-
ness, and the others which followed in such awfully bewildering

228
WOMAN'S MISSION IN THE CIVIL WAR.
succession, she was to be found at the place these foreshadowed
events told that she was most needed. At Belle Plain, at Fred-
ericksburg, and at White House, she was to be found as ever
actively working for the sick and wounded. A friend and fel-
low-laborer describes her work as peculiar, and fitting admirably
into the more exclusive hospital work of the majority of the
women who had devoted themselves to the care of the soldiers
Her great activity and inexhaustible energy showed themselves
in a sort of roving work, in seizing upon and gathering up such
things as her quick eye saw were needed. “We called her (the
Raider,'” says this friend, who was also a warm admirer. “At
Fredericksburg she had in some way gained possession of a
wretched-looking pony, and a small cart or farmer's wagon, with
which she was continually on the move, driving about town or
country in search of such provisions or other articles as were
needed for the sick and wounded. The surgeon in charge had
on one occasion assigned her the task of preparing a building,
which had been taken for a hospital, for a large number of
wounded who were expected almost immediately. I went with
my daughter to the building. It was empty, containing not the
slightest furniture or preparation for the sufferers, save a large
number of bed-sacks, without straw or other material to fill
them.
“On requisition a quantity of straw was obtained, but not
nearly enough for the expected need, and we were standing in a
kind of mute despair, considering if it were indeed possible to
secure any comfort for the poor fellows expected, when - Mrs.
Barlow came in. I'll find some more straw,' was her cheerful
reply, and in another moment she was urging her tired beast
toward another part of the town where she remembered having
seen a bale of the desired article earlier in the day. Half an
hour afterward the straw had been confiscated, loaded upon the
little wagon by willing hands, and brought to the hospital. She
then helped to fill and arrange the sacks, and afterwards drove

MRS. ARABELLA GRIFFITH BARLOW.
229
about the town in search of articles, which, by the time the am-
bulances brought in their freight of misery and pain, had served
to furnish the place with some means of alleviation."
Through all these awful days she labored on unceasingly,
Her health became somewhat impaired, but she paid no heed to
the warning. Her thoughts were not for herself, her cares not
for her own sufferings. Earlier attention to her own condition
might perhaps, have arrested the threatening symptoms, but she
was destined to wear the crown of martyrdom, and lay down the
beautiful life upon which so many hopes clung, her last sacrifice
upon the altar of her country. The extracts which we append
describe better the closing scenes of her life than we can. The
first is taken from the Sanitary Commission Bulletin, of August
15, 1864, and we copy also the beautiful tribute to the memory
of the departed contributed by Dr. Francis Lieber, of Columbia
College, to the New York Evening Post. The briefer extract is
from a letter which appeared in the columns of the New York
Herald of July 31st, 1864.
“Died at Washington, July 27, 1864, Mrs. Arabella Griffith
Barlow, wife of Brigadier-General Francis C. Barlow, of fever
contracted while in attendance upon the hospitals of the Army
of the Potomac at the front.
“With the commencement of the present campaign she became
attached to the Sanitary Commission, and entered upon her
sphere of active work during the pressing necessity for willing
hands and earnest hearts, at Fredericksburg. The zeal, the
activity, the ardent loyalty and the scornful indignation for every-
thing disloyal she then displayed, can never be forgotten by those
whose fortune it was to be with her on that occasion. Ever
watchful of the necessities of that trying time, her mind, fruitful
in resources, was always busy in devising means to alleviate the
discomforts of the wounded, attendant upon so vast a campaign
within the enemy's country, and her hand was always ready to
carry out the devices of her mind.

230
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
“Many a fractured limb rested upon a mattress improvised
from materials sought out and brought together from no one
knew where but the earnest sympathizing woman who is now
no more.
“At Fredericksburg she labored with all her heart and mind.
The sound of battle in which her husband was engaged, floating
back from Chancellorsville, stimulated her to constant exertions.
She faltered not an instant. Remaining till all the wounded
had been removed from Fredericksburg, she left with the last
hospital transport for Port Royal, where she again aided in the
care of the wounded, as they were brought in at that point.
From thence she went to White House, on one of the steamers
then in the service of the Commission, and immediately going to
the front, labored there in the hospitals, after the battle of Cold
Harbor. From White House she passed to City Point, and
arrived before the battles in front of Petersburg. Going directly
to the front, she labored there with the same energy and devotion
she had shown at Fredericksburg and White House.
“Of strong constitution, she felt capable of enduring all things
for the cause she loved; but long-continued toil, anxiety and
privation prepared her system for the approach of fever, which
eventually seized upon her.
“Yielding to the solicitation of friends she immediately returned
to Washington, where, after a serious illness of several weeks, she,
when apparently convalescing, relapsed, and fell another martyr
to a love of country.”
Dr. Lieber says: “Mrs. Barlow, (Arabella Griffith before she
married), was a highly cultivated lady, full of life, spirit, activity
and charity.
“General Barlow entered as private one of our New York
volunteer regiments at the beginning of the war. The evening
before he left New York for Washington with his regiment, they
were married in the Episcopal Church in Lafayette Place.
Barlow rose, and as Lieutenant-Colonel, made the Peninsular

MRS. ARABELLA GRIFFITH BARLOW.
231
campaign under General McClellan. He was twice severely
wounded, the last time at Antietam. Since then we have always
read his name most honorably mentioned, whenever Major-
General Hancock's Corps was spoken of. Mrs. Barlow in the
meantime entered the Sanitary service. In the Peninsular cam-
paign she was one of those ladies who worked hard and nobly,
close to the battle-field, as close indeed as they were permitted to
do. When her husband was wounded she attended, of course,
upon him. In the present campaign of General Grant she has
been at Belle Plain, White House, and everywhere where our
good Sanitary Commission has comforted the dying and rescued
the many wounded from the grave, which they would otherwise
have found. The last time I heard of her she was at White
House, and now I am informed that she died of typhus fever in
Washington. No doubt she contracted the malignant disease in
performing her hallowed and self-imposed duty in the field.
“Her friends will mourn at the removal from this life of so
noble a being. All of us are the poorer for her loss; but our
history has been enriched by her death. Let it always be remem-
bered as one of those details which, like single pearls, make up
the precious string of history, and which a patriot rejoices to con-
template and to transmit like inherited jewels to the rising gene-
rations. Let us remember as American men and women, that
here we behold a young advocate, highly honored for his talents
by all who knew him. He joins the citizen army of his country
as a private, rises to command, is wounded again and again, and
found again and again at the head of his regiment or division, in
the fight where decision centres. And here is his bride-accom-
plished, of the fairest features, beloved and sought for in society
--who divests herself of the garments of fashion, and becomes
the assiduous nurse in the hospital and on the field, shrinking
from no sickening sight, and fearing no typhus—that dreadful
enemy, which in war follows the wings of the angel of death, like
the fever-bearing currents of air—until she, too, is laid on the

232
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
couch of the camp, and bidden to rest from her weary work, and
to let herself be led by the angel of death to the angel of life.
God bless her memory to our women, our men, our country.
“There are many glories of a righteous war. It is glorious to
fight or fall, to bleed or to conquer, for so great and good a cause
as ours; it is glorious to go to the field in order to help and to
heal, to fan the fevered soldier and to comfort the bleeding brother,
and thus helping, may be to die with him the death for our coun-
try. Both these glories have been vouchsafed to the bridal pair.”
The Herald correspondent, writing from Petersburg, July 31,
says:
“General Miles is temporarily in command of the First Division
during the absence of General Barlow, who has gone home for a
few days for the purpose of burying his wife. The serious loss
which the gallant young general and an extensive circle of friends
in social life have sustained by the death of Mrs. Barlow, is largely
shared by the soldiers of this army. She smoothed the dying
pillow of many patriotic soldiers before she received the summons
to follow them herself; and many a surviving hero who has
languished in army hospitals will tenderly cherish the memory of
her saintly ministrations when they were writhing with the pain
of wounds received in battle or lost in the delirium of consuming
fevers."
To these we add also the cordial testimony of Dr. W. H. Reed,
one of her associates, at City Point, in his recently published
"Hospital Life in the Army of the Potomac :"
“Of our own more immediate party, Mrs. General Barlow was
the only one who died. Her exhausting work at Fredericksburg,
where the largest powers of administration were displayed, left
but a small measure of vitality with which to encounter the severe
exposures of the poisoned swamps of the Pamunky, and the
rnalarious districts of City Point. Here, in the open field, she
toiled with Mr. Marshall and Miss Gilson, under the scorching
sun, with no shelter from the pouring rains, with no thought but

MRS. ARABELLA GRIFFITH BARLOW.
233
for those who were suffering and dying all around her. On the
battle-field of Petersburg, hardly out of range of the enemy,
and
at night witnessing the blazing lines of fire from right to left,
among the wounded, with her sympathies and powers of both
mind and body strained to the last degree, neither conscious that
she was working beyond her strength, nor realizing the extreme
exhaustion of her system, she fainted at her work, and found,
only when it was too late, that the raging fever was wasting her
life away. It was strength of will which sustained her in this
intense activity, when her poor, tired body was trying to assert its
own right to repose. Yet to the last, her sparkling wit, her
brilliant intellect, her unfailing good humor, lighted up our
moments of rest and recreation. So many memories of her beau-
tiful constancy and self-sacrifice, of her bright and genial com-
panionship, of her rich and glowing sympathies, of her warm and
loving nature, come back to me, that I feel how inadequate would
be any tribute I could pay to her worth.”
30

MRS. NELLIE MARIA TAYLOR.
HE Southwest bore rank weeds of secession and treason,
spreading poison and devastation over that portion of
our fair national heritage. But from the same soil,
amidst the ruin and desolation which followed the
breaking out of the rebellion, there sprang up growths of loyalty
and patriotism, which by flowering and fruitage, redeemed the
land from the curse that had fallen upon it.
Among the women of the Southwest have occurred instances
of the most devoted loyalty, the most self-sacrificing patriotism.
They have suffered deeply and worked nobly, and their efforts
alone have been sufficient to show that no part of our fair land
was irrecoverably doomed to fall beneath the ban of a govern-
ment opposed to freedom, truth, and progress.
Prominent among these noble women, is Mrs. Nellie Maria
Taylor, of New Orleans, whose sufferings claim our warmest
sympathy, and whose work our highest admiration and gratitude.
Mrs. Taylor, whose maiden name was Dewey, was born in
Watertown, Jefferson county, New York, in the year 1821, of
New England parentage. At an early age she removed with her
parents to the West, where, as she says of herself, she “grew up
among the Indians," and perhaps, by her free life, gained some-
thing of the firmness of health and strength of character and pur-
pose, which have brought her triumphantly through the trials
and labors of the past four years.
She married early, and about the year 1847 removed with her
234

MRS. NELLIE MARIA TAYLOR,
235
husband, Dr. Taylor, and her two children, to New Orleans,
where she has since resided. Consequently she was there through
the entire secession movement, during which, by her firm and
unswerving loyalty, she contrived to render herself somewhat
obnoxious to those surrounding her, of opposite sentiments.
Mrs. Taylor watched anxiously the progress of the movements
which preceded the outbreak, and fearlessly, though not obtru-
sively, expressed her own adverse opinions. At this time her eldest
son was nineteen years of age, a noble and promising youth. He
was importuned by his friends and associates to join some one of
the many companies then forming, but as he was about to
graduate in the high school, he and his family made that an ob-
jection. As soon as he graduated a lieutenancy was offered him
in one of the companies, but deferring an answer, he left imme-
diately for a college in the interior. Two months after the
college closed its doors, and the students, urged by the faculty,
almost en-masse entered the army. Mrs. Taylor, to remove her
son, sent him at once to the north, and rejoiced in the belief that
he was safe.
Immediately after this her persecutions commenced. Her hus-
band had been ill for more than two years, while she supported
her family by teaching, being principal of one of the city public
schools. One day she was called from his bed-side to an interview
with one of the Board of Directors of the schools.
By him she was accused (?) of being a Unionist, and informed
that it was believed that she had sent her son away “to keep him
from fighting for his country.” Knowing the gentleman to be a
northern man, she answered freely, saying that the country of
herself and son was the whole country, and for it she was willing
he should shed his last drop of blood, but not to divide and muti-
late it, would she consent that he should ever endanger himself.
The consequence of this freedom of speech was her dismissal
from her situation on the following day. With her husband ill
unto death, her house mortgaged, her means of livelihood taken

236
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
away, she could only look upon the future with dark forebodings
which nothing but her faith in God and the justice of her cause
could subdue.
A short time after a mob assembled to tear down her house.
She stepped out to remonstrate with them against pulling down
the house over the head of a dying man.
The answer was,
“Madam, we give you five minutes to decide whether you are for
the South or the North. If at the end of that time
you
declare
yourself for the South, your house shall remain; if for the North,
it must come down."
Her answer was memorable.
“Sir, I will say to you and your crowd, and to the world if
you choose to summon it-I am, always have been, and ever
shall be, for the Union. Tear my house down if you choose !"
Awed perhaps by her firmness, and unshrinking devotion, the
spokesman of the mob looked at her steadily for a moment, then
turning to the crowd muttered something, and they followed him
away, leaving her unmolested. This man was a renegade Boston
Yankee.
Such was her love for the national flag that during all this
period of persecution, previous to General Butler's taking posses-
sion of the city she never slept without the banner of the free
above her head, although her house was searched no less than
seven times by a mob of chivalrous gentlemen, varying in num-
ber from two or three score to three hundred, led by a judge who
deemed it not beneath his dignity to preside over a court of jus-
tice by day, and to search the premises of a defenseless woman
by night, in the hope of finding the Union flag, in order to have
an excuse for ejecting her from the city, because she was well
known to entertain sentiments inimical to the interests of seces-
sion.
Before the South ran mad with treason, Mrs. Taylor and the
wife of this judge were intimate friends, and their intimacy had
not entirely ceased so late as the early months of 1862. It was

MRS. NELLIE MARIA TAYLOR.
237
a
late in February of that year that Mrs. Taylor was visiting at
the judge's house, and during her visit the judge's sun, a young
man of twenty, taunted her with various epithets, such as
“Lincoln Emissary,” « a traitor to her country," "a friend of Lin-
coln's hirelings,” etc. She listened quietly, and then as quietly
remarked that “he evidently belonged to that very numerous
class of young men in the South who evinced their courage by
applying abusive epithets to women and defenseless persons, but
showed a due regard to their own safety, by running away—as at
Dunelson-whenever they were likely to come into contact with
"Lincoln's hirelings."
The same evening, at a late hour, while Mrs. Taylor was
standing by the bed-side of her invalid husband, preparing some
medicine for him, she heard the report of a rifle and felt the wind
of a minie bullet as it passed close to her head and lodged in the
wall. In the morning she dug the ball out of the wall and took
it over to the judge's house which was opposite to her own.
When the young man came in Mrs. Taylor handed it to him, and
asked if he knew what it was. He turned pale, but soon re-
covered his composure sufficiently to reply that "it looked like a
rifle-ball.” “Oh, no," said Mrs. Taylor, "you mistake! It is a
piece of Southern chivalry fired at a defenseless woman, in the
middle of the night, by the son of a judge, whose courage should
entitle him to a commission in the Confederate army.
Still, brave as she was, she could not avoid some feeling, if not
of trepidation, at least of anxiety, at being thus exposed to mid-
night assassination, while her life was so necessary to her helpless
family.
These are but a few instances out of many, of the trials she had
to endure. Her son hearing of them, through the indiscretion
of a school-friend, hastened home, determined to enlist in the
Confederate army to save his parents from further molestation.
Ile enlisted for ninety days, hoping thus to shield his family from
persecution, but the Conscription Act, which shortly after went

238
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
into effect, kept him in the position for which his opinions so un-
fitted him. From the spring of 1862, he remained in the Con-
federate army, gaining rapid promotion, and distinguished for his
bravery, until the close of the war, when he returned home un-
changed in sentiment, and unharmed by shot or shell—in this
last particular more fortunate than thousands of others forced by
conscription into the ranks, and sacrificing their lives for a cause
with which they had no sympathy.
From the time of her son's enlistment Mrs. Taylor was nearly
free from molestation, and devoted herself to the care of her
family, until the occupation of New Orleans by the Union forces.
She was then reinstated in her position as teacher, and after the
establishment of Union hospitals, she spent all her leisure
moments in ministering to the wants of the sick and wounded.
In 1863, we hear of her as employing all her summer vacation,
as well as her entire leisure-time when in school, in visiting the
hospitals, attending the sick and wounded soldiers, and preparing
for them such delicacies and changes of food and other comforts
as she could procure from her own purse, and by the aid of others.
From that time forward until the close of the war, or until the
hospitals were closed by order of the Government, she continued
this work, expending her whole salary upon these suffering men,
and never omitting anything by which she might minister to their
comfort.
Thousands of soldiers can bear testimony to her unwearied
labors; it is not wanting, and will be her best reward. One of
these writers says, “I do assure you it affords me the greatest
pleasure to be able to add my testimony for that good, that noble
that blessed woman, Mrs. Taylor. I was wounded at Port Hud-
son in May, 1863, and lay in the Barracks General Hospital at
New Orleans for over three months, when I had an excellent
opportunity to see and know her work.
She worked
every day in the hospital-all her school salary she spent for the
soldiers-night after night she toiled, and long after others were
*
*
*

MRS. NELLIE MARIA TAYLOR.
239
the year
at rest she was busy for the suffering.” And another makes it
a matter of personal thankfulness that he should have been
applied to for information in regard to this“ blessed woman,” and
repeats his thanks "for himself and hundreds of others,” that her
services are to be recorded in this book.
Having great facility in the use of her pen, Mrs. Taylor made
herself especially useful in writing letters for the soldiers. During
from January 1864 to January 1865, she wrote no less than
eleven hundred and seventy-four letters for these men, and even
now, since the close of the war, her labors in that direction do not
end. She is in constant communication with friends of soldiers
in all parts of the country, collecting for them every item of per-
sonal information in her power, after spending hours in search-
ing hospital records, and all other available sources for obtaining
the desired knowledge.
During the summer of 1864, her duties were more arduous
Chan at any other time. She distributed several thousands of
Jollars worth of goods, for the Cincinnati Branch of the United
States Sanitary Commission, and on the 1st of June, when her
vacation commenced, she undertook the management of the
Dietetic Department in the University Hospital, the largest in
New Orleans. From that time till October 1st, she, with her
daughter and four other ladies, devoted like herself to the work,
with their own hands, with the assistance of one servant only,
cooked, prepared, and administered all the extra diet to the
patients, numbering frequently five or six hundred on diet, at one
time.
Two of these ladies were constantly at the hospital, Mrs. Tay-
lor frequently four days in the week, and when not there, in other
hospitals, not allowing herself one day at home during the whole
vacation. When obliged to return to her school, her daughter,
Miss Alice Taylor, took her place, and with the other ladies con
tinued, Mrs. Taylor giving her assistance on Saturday and Sun
day, till January 1st, 1865, when the hospital was finally closed.

240
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Mrs. Taylor has been greatly aided by her children; her
daughter, as nobly patriotic as herself, in the beginning of the
war refusing to present a Confederate flag to a company unless
beneath an arch ornamented, and with music the same as on occa-
sion of presenting a banner to a political club the preceding year
-viz: the arch decorated with United States flags, and the
national airs played. Her son “Johnnie” is as well known and
as beloved by the soldiers as his mother, and well nigh sacrificed
his noble little life to his unwearied efforts in their behalf.
It is out of the fiery furnace of trial that such nobly devoted
persons as Mrs. Taylor and her family come forth to their mission
of beneficence. Persecuted, compelled to make the most terrible
and trying sacrifices, in dread and danger continually, the work
of the loyal women of the South stands pre-eminent, among the
labors of the noble daughters of America. And of these, Mrs.
Taylor and her associates, and of Union women throughout the
South, it may well and truly be said, in the words of Holy Writ;
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them
all.

MRS. ADALINE TYLER.
M
RS. TYLER, the subject of the following sketch, is a
native of Massachusetts, and for many years was a
resident of Boston, in which city from her social posi-
tion and her piety and benevolence she was widely
known. She is a devout member of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, greatly trusted and respected both by clergy and laity.
In 1856, she removed from Boston to Baltimore, Maryland.
It was the desire of Bishop Whittingham of that Diocese to
institute there a Protestant Sisterhood, or Order of Deaconesses,
similar to those already existing in Germany, England, and per-
haps other parts of Europe. Mrs. Tyler, then a widow, was
invited to assume the superintendence of this order—a band of
noble and devout women who turning resolutely from the world
and its allurements and pleasures, desired to devote their lives
and talents to works of charity and mercy.
To care for the sick, to relieve all want and suffering so far as
lay in their power, to administer spiritual comfort, to give of
their own substance, and to be the almoners of those pious souls
whose duties lay in other directions, and whose time necessarily
absorbed in other cares, did not allow the same self-devotion--
this was the mission which they undertook, and for years prose-
cuted with untiring energy, and undoubted success.
In addition to her general superintendence of the order, Mrs.
Tyler administered the affairs of the Church Home, a charitable
Institution conducted by the Sisterhood, and occupied herself in
31
241

242
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
a variety of pious and benevolent duties, among which were
visiting the sick, and comforting the afflicted and prisoners.
Among other things she devoted one day in each week to visiting
the jail of Baltimore, at that time a crowded and ill-conducted
prison, and the abode of a great amount of crime and suffering.
Mrs., then known as Sister Tyler, had been five years in Bal-
timore, filling up the time with her varied duties and occupa-
tions, when the storm that had so long threatened the land, burst
in all the thunderbolts of its fury. Secession had torn from the
Union some of the fairest portions of its domain, and already
stood in hostile attitude all along the borders of the free North.
The President, on the 15th of April, 1861, issued his first pro-
clamation, announcing the presence of rebellion, commanding the
insurgents to lay down their arms and return to their allegiance
within twenty days, and calling on the militia of the several
loyal States to the number of seventy-five thousand, to assemble
for the defense of their country.
This proclamation, not unexpected at the North, yet sent a
thrill of mingled feeling all through its bounds. The order was
promptly obeyed, and without delay the masses prepared for the
struggle which lay before them, but of which, as yet, no prophetic
visions foretold the progress or result. Immediately regiment
after regiment was hurried forward for the protection of the
Capitol, supposed to be the point most menaced. Among these,
and of the very earliest, was the Sixth Regiment Massachusetts
Volunteers, of which the nucleus was the Lowell City Guards.
On the memorable and now historical 19th of April, this regi-
ment while hurrying to the defense of Washington was assailed
by a fierce and angry mob in the streets of Baltimore, and several
of its men were murdered; and this for marching to the defense
of their country, to which the citizens of Baltimore, their assail-
ants, were equally pledged.
This occurred on a Friday, the day as before stated, set apart
by Mrs. Tyler for her weekly visit to the jail. The news of the

MRS. ADALINE TYLER.
243
riot reached her as she was about setting out upon this errand of
mercy, and caused her to postpone her visit for several hours, as
her way lay through some portion of the disturbed district.
When, at last, she did go, a degree of quiet prevailed, though
she saw wounded men being conveyed to their homes, or to places
where they might be cared for, and it was evident that the public
excitement had not subsided with hostilities. Much troubled
concerning the fate of the Northern men—men, it must be
remembered, of her own State—who had been stricken down,
she hastened to conclude as soon as possible her duties at the
jail, and returning homeward despatched a note to a friend asking
him to ascertain and inform her what had become of the wounded
soldiers. The reply soon came, with the tidings that they had
been conveyed to one of the Station Houses by the Police, and
were said to have been cared for, though the writer had not been
allowed to enter and satisfy himself that such was the case.
This roused the spirit of Mrs. Tyler. Here was truly a work
of “charity and mercy,” and it was clearly her duty, in pursu-
ance of the objects to which she had devoted her life, to ensure
the necessary care of these wounded and suffering men who had
fallen into the hands of those so inimical to them.
It was now late in the afternoon. Mrs. Tyler sent for a car-
riage which she was in the habit of using whenever need required,
and the driver of which was honest and personally friendly,
though probably a secessionist, and proceeded to the Station
House. By this time it was quite dark, and she was alone.
Alighting she asked the driver to give her whatever aid she
might need, and to come to her should he even see her beckon
from a window, and he promised compliance.
She knocked at the door, but on telling her errand was denied
admittance, with the assurance that the worst cases had been sent
to the Infirmary, while those who were in the upper room of the
Station House had been properly cared for, and were in bed for
the night. She again asked to be allowed to see them, adding

244
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
that the care of the suffering was her life work, and she would
like to assure herself that they needed nothing. She was again
denied more peremptorily than before.
“Very well,” she replied, “I am myself a Massachusetts woman,
seeking to do good to the citizens of my own state. If not allowed
to do so, I shall immediately send a telegram to Governor Andrew,
informing him that my request is denied.”
This spirited reply produced the desired result, and after a
little consultation among the officials, who probably found the
Governor of a State a much more formidable antagonist than a
woman, coming alone on an errand of mercy, the doors were
opened and she was conducted to that upper room where the
fallen patriots lay.
Two were already dead. Two or three were in bed, the rest
lay in their misery upon stretchers, helpless objects of the tongue
abuse of the profane wretches who, “dressed in a little brief
authority,” walked up and down, thus pouring out their wrath.
All the wounded had been drugged, and were either partially or
entirely insensible to their miseries. Some eight or ten hours
had elapsed since the wounds were received, but no attention had
been paid to them, further than to staunch the blood by thrust-
ing into them large pieces of cotton cloth. Even their clothes
had not been removed. One of them (Coburn) had been shot in
the hip, another (Sergeant Ames) was wounded in the back of
the neck, just at the base of the brain, apparently by a heavy
glass bottle, for pieces of the glass yet remained in the wound,
and lay in bed, still in his soldier's overcoat, the rough collar of
which irritated the ghastly wound. These two were the most
dangerously hurt
Mrs. Tyler with some difficulty obtained these men,
and
pro-
curing, by the aid of her driver, a furniture van, had them laid
upon it and conveyed to her house, the Deaconesses' Home.
Here a surgeon was called, their wounds dressed, and she extended
to them the care and kindness of a mother, until they were so

MRS. ADALINE TYLER.
245
nearly well as to be able to proceed to their own homes. She during
this time refused protection from the police, and declared that she
felt no fears for her own safety while thus strictly in the line of
the duties to which her life was pledged.
This was by no means the last work of this kind performed by
Sister Tyler. Other wounded men were received and cared for
by her—one a German, member of a Pennsylvania Regiment,
(who was accidentally shot by one of his own comrades) whom
she nursed to health in her own house.
For her efforts in behalf of the Massachusetts men she received
the personal acknowledgments of the Governor, President of the
Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives of that State,
and afterwards resolutions of thanks were passed by the Legisla-
ture, or General Court, which, beautifully engrossed upon parch-
ment, and sealed with the seal of the Commonwealth, were pre-
sented to her.
In all that she did, Mrs. Tyler had the full approval of her
Bishop, as well as of her own conscience, while soon after at the
suggestion of Bishop Whittingham, the Surgeon-General offered,
and indeed urged upon her, the superintendency of the Camden
Street Hospital, in the city of Baltimore. Her experience in the
management of the large institution she had so long superintended,
her familiarity with all forms of suffering, as well as her natural
tact and genius, and her high character, eminently fitted her for
this position.
Her duties were of course fulfilled in the most admirable man-
ner, and save that she sometimes came in contact with the mem-
bers of some of the volunteer associations of ladies who, in their
commendable anxiety to minister to the suffering soldiers, occa-
sionally allowed their zeal to get the better of their discretion,
gave satisfaction to all concerned. She did not live in the Hos-
pital, but spent the greater part of the time there during the year
of her connection with it. Circumstances at last decided her to
leave. Her charge she turned over to Miss Williams, of Boston,

246
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
whom she had herself brought thither, and then went north ward
to visit her friends.
She had not long been in the city of New York before she was
urgently desired by the Surgeon-General to take charge of a large
hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania, just established and greatly
needing the ministering aid of women. She accepted the appoint-
ment, and proceeding to Boston selected from among her friends,
and those who had previously offered their services, a corps of
excellent nurses, who accompanied her to Chester.
In this hospital there was often from five hundred to one thou-
sand sick and wounded men, and Mrs. Tyler had use enough for
the ample stores of comforts which, by the kindness of her friends
in the east, were continually arriving. Indeed there was never a
time when she was not amply supplied with these, and with
money for the use of her patients.
She remained at Chester a year, and was then transferred to
Annapolis, where she was placed in charge of the Naval School
Hospital, remaining there until the latter part of May, 1864.
This was a part of her service which perhaps drew more
heavily than any other upon the sympathies and heart of Mrs.
Tyler. Here, during the period of her superintendency, the
poor
wrecks of humanity from the prison pens of Andersonville and
Belle Isle were brought, an assemblage of such utter misery, such
dreadful suffering, that words fail in the description of it. Here
indeed was a "work of charity and mercy," such as had never
before been presented to this devoted woman; such, indeed, as the
world had never seen.
Most careful, tender, and kindly were the ministrations of Mrs.
Tyler and her associates a noble band of women-to these
wretched men. Filth, disease, and starvation had done their
work upon them. Emaciated, till only the parchment-like skin
covered the protruding bones, many of them too feeble for the
least exertion, and their minds scarcely stronger than their bodies,

MRS. ADALINE TYLER.
247
they were indeed a speetacle to inspire, as they did, the kienest
sympathy, and to call for every effort of kindness.
Mrs. Tyler procured a number of photographs of these wretched
men, representing them in all their squalor and emaciation.
These were the first which were taken, though the Government
afterwards caused some to be made which were widely distributed.
With these Mrs. Tyler did much good. She had a large number
of copies printed in Boston, after her return there, and both in
this country and in Europe, which she afterwards visited, often
had occasion to bring them forward as unimpeachable witnesses
of the truth of her own statements. Sun pictures cannot lie, and
the sun's testimony in these brought many a heart shudderingly
to a belief which it had before scouted. In Europe, particularly,
both in England and upon the Continent, these pictures com-
pelled credence of those tales of the horrors and atrocities of rebel
prison pens, which it had long been the fashion to hold as mere
sensation stories, and libels upon the chivalrous South.
Whenever referring to her work at Annapolis for the returned
prisoners, Mrs. Tyler takes great pleasure in expressing her ap-
preciation of the valuable and indefatigable services of the late
Dr. Vanderkieft, Surgeon in charge of the Naval School Hospital.
In his efforts to resuscitate the poor victims of starvation and
cruelty, he was indefatigable, never sparing himself, but bestowing
upon them his unwearied personal attention and sympathy. In
this he was aided by his wife, herself a true Sister of Charity.
Mrs. Tyler also gives the highest testimony to the services and
personal worth of her co-workers, Miss Titcomb, Miss Hall, and
others, who gave themselves with earnest zeal to the cause, and
feels how inadequate would have been her utmost efforts amid the
multitude of demands, but for their aid. It is to them chiefly
due that so many healthy recreations, seasons of amusement and
religious instruction were given to the men.
During and subsequent to the superintendency of Mrs. Tyler
at Annapolis a little paper was published weekly at the hospital,

218
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
under the title of “The Crutch.” This was well supplied with
articles, many of them of real merit, both by officials and pa-
tients. Whenever an important movement took place, or a bat-
tle, it was the custom to issue a small extra giving the telegraphic
account; when, if it were a victory, the feeble sufferers who had
sacrificed so much for their country, would spend the last rem-
nants of their strength, and make the very welkin ring, with
their shouts of gladness.
Exhausted by her labors, and the various calls upon her efforts,
Mrs. Tyler, in the spring of 1864, was at length obliged to send
in her resignation. Her health seemed utterly broken down, and
her physicians and friends saw in an entire change of air and
scene the best hope of her recovery. She had for some time been
often indisposed, and her illness at last terminated in fever and
chills. Though well accustomed during her long residence to the
climate of Maryland, she no longer possessed her youthful pow-
ers of restoration and reinvigoration. Her physicians advised a
sea voyage as essential to her recovery, and a tour to Europe was
therefore determined upon.
She left the Naval School Hospital on the 27th of May, 1864,
and set sail from New York on the 15th of June.
The disease did not succumb at once, as was hoped. She
endured extreme illness and lassitude during her voyage, and was
completely prostrated on her arrival in Paris where she lay three
weeks ill, before being able to proceed by railroad to Lucerne,
Switzerland, and rejoin her sister who had been some months in
Europe, and who, with her family, were to be the traveling com-
panions of Mrs. Tyler. Arrived at Lucerne, she was again pros-
trated by chills and fever, and only recovered after removal to
the dryer climate of Berlin. The next year she was again ill
with the same disease after a sojourn among the dykes and canals
of Holland.
Mrs. Tyler spent about eighteen months in Europe, traveling
jver various parts of the Continent, and England, where she

MRS. ADALINE TYLER.
219
renained four or five months, returning to her native land in
November, 1865, to find the desolating war which had raged
here at the time of her departure at an end. Her health had
been by this time entirely re-established, and she is happy in the
belief that long years of usefulness yet remain to her.
Ardent and fearless in her loyalty to her Government, Mrs.
Tyler had ample opportunities, never neglected, to impress the
truth in regard to our country and its great struggle for true
liberty, upon the minds of persons of all classes in Europe. Her
letters of introduction from her friends, from Bishop Whittingham
and others, brought her into frequent contact with people of
cultivation and refinement who, like the masses, yet held the
popular belief in regard to the oppression and abuse of the South
by the North, a belief which Mrs. Tyler even at the risk of
offending numerous Southern friends by her championship, was
sure to combat. Like other intelligent loyal Americans she was
thus the means of spreading right views, and accomplishing
great good, even while in feeble health and far from her own
country. For her services in this regard she might well have
been named a Missionary of Truth and Liberty.
One instance of her experience in contact with Southern sym-
pathizers with the Rebellion, we take the liberty to present to the
readers of this sketch. Mrs. Tyler was in London when the
terrible tidings of that last and blackest crime of the Rebellion-
the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was received. She was
paying a morning visit to an American friend, a Southerner and
a Christian, when the door was suddenly thrust open and a
fiendish-looking man rushed in, vociferating, "Have you heard
the news? Old Abe is assassinated! Seward too! Johnson es-
caped. Now if God will send an earthquake and swallow up
the whole North-men, women, and children, I will say His
name be praised !"
All this was uttered as in one breath, and then the restless
form, and fierce inflamed visage as suddenly disappeared, leaving
32

250
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
horrid imprecations upon the ears of the listeners, who never
supposed the fearful tale could be true. Mrs. Tyler's friend
offered the only extenuation possible—the man had “been on
board the Alabama and was very bitter.” But in Mrs. Tyler's
memory that fearful deed is ever mingled with that fiendish face
and speech.
The next day the Rebel Commissioner Mason, replying to
some remarks of the American Minister, Mr. Adams, in the
Times, took occasion most emphatically to deprecate the insinu-
ation that the South had any knowledge of, or complicity in this
urine.

MRS. WILLIAM H. HOLSTEIN.
T the opening of the war Mrs. Holstein was residing
in a most pleasant and delightful country home at
Upper Merion, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
In the words of one who knows and appreciates her
well—“Mr. and Mrs. Holstein are people of considerable wealth,
and unexceptionable social position, beloved and honored by all
who know them, who voluntarily abandoned their beautiful
home to live for years in camps and hospitals. Their own deli-
cacy and modesty would forbid them to speak of the work they
accomplished, and no one can ever know the greatness of its
results."
As Mrs. Holstein was always accompanied by her husband,
and this devoted pair were united in this great patriotic and
kindly work, as in all the other cases, duties and pleasures of
life, it would be almost impossible, even if it were necessary, to
give any separate account of her services for the army. This is
shown in the following extracts from a letter, probably not
intended for publication, but which, in a spirit far removed from
that of self-praise, gives an account of the motives and feelings
which actuated her, and of the opening scenes of her public
services.
“The story of my work, blended as it is, (and should be) so
intimately with that of my husband, in his earnest wish to carry
out what we felt to be simply a matter of duty, is like an 'oft
told tale not worth repeating. Like all other loyal women in
251

252
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
there sprang
our land, at the first sound and threatening of war, ,
up
in my heart an uncontrollable impulse to do, to act; for any-
thing but idleness when our country was in peril and her song
marching to battle.
“It seemed that the only help woman could give was in pro-
viding comforis for the sick and wounded, and to this, for a time,
I gave my undivided attention. I felt sure there was work for
me to do in this war; and when my mother would say 'I hope,
my child, it will not be in the hospitals,'—my response was ever
the same—'Wherever or whatever it may be, it shall be done
with all my heart. '
“At length came the battle of Antietam, and from among us
six ladies went to spend ten days in caring for the wounded.
But craven-like, I shrank instinctively from such scenes, and
declined to join the party. But when my husband returned from
there, one week after the battle, relating such unheard of stories
of suffering, and of the help that was needed, I hesitated no
longer. In a few days we collected a car load of boxes, contain-
ing comforts and delicacies for the wounded, and had the satis-
faction of taking them promptly to their destination.
“The first wounded and the first hospitals I saw I shall never
forget, for then flashed across my mind, “This is the work God
has given you to do,' and the vow was made, “While the war
lasts we stand pledged to aid, as far as is in our power, the sick
and suffering. We have no right to the comforts of our home,
while so many of the noblest of our land so willingly renounce
theirs.' The scenes of Antietam are graven as with an 'iron pen'
upon my mind. The place ever recalls throngs of horribly
wounded men strewn in every direction. So fearful it all locked
to me then, that I thought the choking sobs and blinding tears
would never admit of my being of any use. To suppress them,
and to learn to be calm under all circumstances, was one of the
hardest lessons the war taught.
“We gave up our sweet country home, and from that date

MRS. WILLIAM H. HOLSTEIN.
253
were dwellers in tents,' occupied usually in field hospitals,
choosing that work because there was the greatest need, and
knowing that while many were willing to work at home, but few
could go to the front.”
From that time, the early autumn of 1862, until July, 1865,
Mrs. Holstein was constantly devoted to the work, not only in
camps and hospitals, but in traveling from place to place and
enlisting the more energetic aid of the people by lecturing and
special appeals.
At Antietam Mrs. Holstein found the men she had come to
care for, those brave, suffering men, lying scattered all over the
field, in barns and sheds, under the shelter of trees and fences, in
need of every comfort, but bearing their discomforts and pain
without complaint or murmuring, and full of gratitude to those
who had it in their power to do anything, ever so little, for their
relief.
Here she encountered the most trying scenes—a boy of seven-
teen crying always for his mother to come to him, or to be per-
mitted to go to her, till the great stillness of death fell upon
him; agonized wives seeking the remains of the lost, sorrowing
relatives, of all degrees, some confirmed in their worst fears, some
reassured and grateful—a constant succession of bewildering emo-
tions, of hope, fear, sadness and joy.
The six ladies from her own town, were still for a long time
busy in their work of mercy distributing freely, as they had been
given, the supplies with which they had been provided. This
was eminently a work of faith. Often the stores, of one, or of
many kinds, would be exhausted, but in no instance did Provi-
dence fail to immediately replenish those most needed.
During the stay of Mr. and Mrs. Holstein in Sharpsburg, an
ambulance was daily placed at their disposal, and they were con-
tinually going about with it and finding additional cases in need
of every comfort. Supplies were continually sent from friends at
home, and they remained until the wounded had all left save a

254
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
few who were retained at Smoketown and Locust Spring Hos-
pitals.
While the army rested in the vicinity of Sharpsburg, scores of
fever patients came pouring in, making a fearful addition to the
hospital patients, and greatly adding to the mortality.
The party, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Holstein and a friend of
theirs, a lady, remained until their services were no longer required,
and then, about the 1st of December, returned home. Busied in
arrangement for the collection and forwarding of stores, and in
making trips to Antietam, Harper's Ferry, and Frederick City,
on similar business, the days wore away until the battle of Fred-
ericksburg. Soon after this they went to Virginia, and entered
the Second Corps Hospital near Falmouth. There in a Sibley
tent whose only floor was of the branches of the pines—in that
little Hospital on the bleak hill-side, the winter wore slowly
away. The needful army movements had rendered the muddy
roads impassable. No chaplain came to the camp until these
roads were again in good order. Men sickened and died with no
other religious services performed in their hearing than the simple
reading of Scripture and prayers which Mrs. Holstein was in the
habit of using for them, and which were always gladly listened to.
Just previous to the battle of Chancellorsville, Mrs. Holstein
returned home for a few days, and was detained on coming back
to her post by the difficulty of getting within the lines. She
found the hospital moved some two miles from its former location,
and that many of her former patients had died, or suffered much
in the change. After the battle there was of course a great acces-
sion of wounded men. Some had lain long upon the field-one
group for eleven days, with wounds undressed, and almost with-
out food. The rebels, finding they did not die, reluctantly fed
them with some of their miserable corn bread, and afterwards sent
them within the Union lines.
The site of the hospital where Mrs. Holstein was now stationer,
was very beautiful. The surgeon in charge had covered the sloping

MRS. WILLIAM H. HOLSTEIN.
255
hill-side with a flourishing garden. The convalescents had slowly
and painfully planted flower seeds, and built rustic arbors. All
things had begun to assume the aspect of a beautiful home.
But suddenly, on the 13th of June, 1863, while at dinner, the
order was received to break up the hospital. In two hours the
wounded men, so great was their excitement at the thought of
going toward home, were on their way to Washington.
All was excitement, in fact. The army was all in motion as
soon as possible. Through the afternoon the work of destruction
went on. As little as possible was left for the enemy, and when
Mrs. Holstein awoke the following morning, the plain below was
covered by a living mass, and the bayonets were gleaming in the
brilliant sunlight, as the long lines were put in motion, and the
Army of the Potomac began its northern march,
Mr. and Mrs. Holstein accompanied it, bearing all its dangers
and discomforts in company with the men with whom they had
for the time cast their lot. The heat, dust, and fatigue were
dreadful, and danger from the enemy was often imminent. At
Sangster's Station, the breaking down of a bridge delayed the
crossing of the infantry, and the order was given to reduce the
officers' baggage to twenty pounds.
Then came many of the officers to beg leave to entrust to the
care of Mr. and Mrs. Holstein, money and valuables. They
received both in large amounts, and had the satisfaction of carry-
ing all safely, and having them delivered at last to their rightful
owners.
At Union Mills a battle was considered imminent, and Mrs.
Holstein's tent in the rear of the Union army, was within bugle
call of the rebel lines. In the morning it was deemed best for
them to proceed by railroad to Alexandria and Washington,
whence they could readily return whenever needed.
At Washington, Mr. Holstein was threatened by an attack of
malarious fever, and they returned at once to their home. While
there, and he still unable to move, the battle of Gettysburg was

256
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
fought. In less than a week he left his bed, and the devoted
pair proceeded thither to renew their services, where they were
then so greatly needed.
Mrs. Holstein's first night in this town was passed upon the
parlor floor of a hotel, with only a satchel for a pillow, where
fatigue made her sleep soundly. The morning saw them at the
Field Hospital of the Second Corps, where they were enthusias-
tically welcomed by their old friends. Herė, side by side, just as
they had been brought in from the field, lay friends and enemies.
Experience had taught Mr. and Mrs. Holstein how and what
to do. Very soon their tent was completed, their“Diet Kitchen”
arranged, the valuable supplies they had brought with them ready
for distribution, and their work moving on smoothly and bene-
ficially amid all the horrors of this terrible field.
“There,” reports Mrs. Holstein, “as in all places where I have
known our brave Union soldiers, they bore their sufferings bravely,
I might almost say exultingly, because they were for "The Flag
and our country.”
The scenes of horror and of sadness enacted there, have left
their impress upon the mind of Mrs. Holstein in unfading charac-
ters. And yet, amidst these there were some almost ludicrous, as
for instance, that of the soldier, White, of the Twentieth Massa-
chusetts, who, supposed to be dead, was borne, with two of his
comrades, to the grave side, but revived under the rude shock
with which the stretcher was set down, and looking down into
the open grave in which lay a brave lieutenant of his own regi-
ment, declared, with grim fun, that he would not be “ buried by
that raw recruit," and ordered the men to carry him back."
This man, though fearfully wounded in the throat, actually lived
and recovered.
The government was now well equipped with stores and sup-
plies, but Mrs. Holstein writes her testimony, with that of all
others, to the most valuable supplementary aid of the Sanitary

MRS. WILLIAM H. HOLSTEIN.
257
and Christian Commissions, in caring for the vast army vf
wounded and suffering upon this dreadful field.
By the 7th of August all had been removed who were able
to bear transportation, to other hospitals. Three thousand re-
mained, who were placed in the United States General Hospital
on York Turnpike. The Second Corps Hospital was merged in
this, and Mrs. Holstein remained as its matron until its close, and
was fully occupied until the removal of the hospital and the dedi-
cation of the National Cemetery.
She then returned home, but after rest she was requested by
the Sanitary Commission to commence a tour among the Aid
Societies of the State, for the purpose of telling the ladies all that
her experience had taught her of the soldier's needs, and the best
way of preparing and forwarding clothing, delicacies and supplies
of all kinds. She felt it impossible to be idle, and however disa-
greeable this task, she would not shrink from it. The earnestness
with which she was listened to, and the consciousness of the good
to result from her labors, sustained her all through the arduous
winter's work, during which she often met two or three audiences
for an hour and a half talk," in the course of the day. Her
husband as usual accompanied her, and in the spring, with the
commencement of Grant's campaign over the Rapidan, they both
went forward as agents of the Sanitary Commission.
Through all this dread campaign they worked devotedly.
They could not rest to be appalled by its horrors. They could
not think of the grandeur of its conceptions or the greatness of its
victories—they could only work and wait for leisure to grasp
the
wonder of the passing events.
As Mrs. Holstein herself says:
“While living amidst so much excitement-in the times which
form history--we were unconscious of it all-it was our daily
life!”
Of that long period, Mrs. Holstein records two grand ex-
periences as conspicuous—the salute which followed the news of
33

258
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the completion of Sherman's “March to the Sea," and the explo
sion of the mine at City Point.
With the first, one battery followed another with continuous
peverberation, till all the air was filled with the roar of artillery.
The other was more awful. The explosion was fearful. The
smoke rose in form like a gigantic umbrella, and from its midst
radiated every kind of murderous missile—shells were thrown
and burst in all directions, muskets and every kind of arms fell
like a shower around. Comparatively few were killed—many of
the men were providentially out of the way. Until the revela-
tions upon the trial of Wirz, it was supposed to have been caused
by an accident, but then men learned that it was part of a fiendish
plot to destroy lives and Government property.
The summer of 1864 was noted for its intense heat and dust,
but Mr. and Mrs. Holstein remained with the army, absorbed in
their work, till November, when Mr. Holstein's health again
failed and they went home for rest. It was not thought prudent
for them to return, and Mrs. Holstein, still accompanied by him,
resumed her travels and spent some time in “talking” to the
women and children of the State. She had the satisfaction of
establishing several societies which worked vigorously during the
remainder of the war.
In January, 1865, they went to Annapolis to do what they
could for the returned Andersonville prisoners, and to learn their
actual condition and sufferings that Mrs. Holstein might have a
better hold upon the minds of the people, to whom she talked.
Let us give these brief allusions to her experiences here, in her
own words.
“All of horror I had seen, or known, throughout the war,
faded into insignificance when contrasted with the results of this
heinous sin-a systematic course of starvation of brave men,
made captive by the chances of war.
My note-book
is filled with fearful records of suffering, and hardships unpar-
alleled, written just as I took the statements from the fleshless
*
*
*

MRS. WILLIAM H. HOLSTEIN.
259
lips of these living skeletons. In appearance they reminded me
more of the bodies I had seen washed out upon Antietam, and
other battle-fields, than of anything else-only they had ceased to
suffer and were at rest,—these were still living, breathing, help-
less skeletons.
'In treason's prison-hold
Their martyred spirits grew
To stature like the saints of old,
While, amid agonies untold,
They starved for me—and you.'
“We remained at Annapolis from January to July, when, the
war being closed, the men were mustered out of service. The
few remaining were sent to Baltimore, and the hospitals were
vacated and restored to their former uses.
“Much of the summer was occupied in unfinished hospital
work, and in looking after some special cases of great interest.
The final close of the war brought with it, for the first time in
all these long years, perfect rest to overtasked mind and wearied
body.”

MRS. CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY.
I
woman.
HE State of Wisconsin is justly proud of a name, which,
while standing for what is noble and true in man, has
received an added lustre in being made to express
also, the sympathy, the goodness, and the power of
The death of the honored husband, and the public
labors of the heroic wife, in the same cause—the great cause that
has absorbed the attention and the resources of the country for
four years—have given each to the other a peculiar and thrilling
interest to every loyal American heart.
It will be remembered that shortly after the battle of Shiloh,
Governor Harvey proceeded to the front with supplies and medi-
cal aid to assist in caring for the wounded among the soldiers
from his State, after rendering great service in alleviating their
sufferings by the aid and comfort he brought with him, and
reviving their spirits by his presence. As he was about to em-
bark at Savannah for home, in passing from one boat to another,
he fell into the river and was drowned. This was on the
19th of April, 1862, a day made memorable by some of the most
important events in our country's history. Two days before he
wrote to Mrs. Harvey the last sacred letter as follows:
“PITTSBURG LANDING, April 17, 1862.
"DEAR WIFE:-Yesterday was the day of my life. Thank God for the im-
pulse that brought me here. I am well and have done more good by coming
than I can well tell you. In haste,
“Louis."
260

MRS. CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY.
261
With these words ringing in her ears as from beyond the tomb,
the conviction forced itself upon her mind that the path of duty
for her lay in the direction he had so faithfully pointed out. But
for a while womanly feeling overcame all else, and she gave way
beneath the shock of her affliction, coming so suddenly and taking
away at once the pride, the hope, and the joy of life. For many
weeks it seemed that the tie that bound her to the departed was
stronger than that which held her to the earth, and her friends
almost despaired of seeing her again herself.
Hers was indeed a severe affliction. A husband, beloved and
honored by all, without a stain upon his fair fame, with a bright
future and hope of long life before him, had fallen—suddenly as
by a bullet—at the front, where his great heart had led him to
look after the wants of his own brave troops-fallen to be re-
membered with the long list of heroes who have died that their
country might live, and in making themselves immortal, have
made a people great. Nor was this sacrifice without its fruit.
It was this that put it into her heart to work for the soldiers, and
from the
grave of HARVEY have sprung those flowers of Love
and Mercy whose fragrance has filled the land.
Looking back now, it is easy to see how much this bereave-
ment had to do in fitting Mrs. Harvey for her work. It is the
experience of sorrow that prepares us to minister to others in
distress. At home none could say they had given more for their
country than she, few could feel a sorrow she had not known or
with which she could not sympathize, out of something in her
own experience. In the army, in camps and hospitals, who so
fit to speak in the place of wife or mother to the sick and dying
soldier, as she, in whom the tenderest feelings of the heart had
been touched by the hand of Death ?
With the intention of devoting herself to this work, she asked
of the Governor permission to visit hospitals in the Western
Department, as agent for the State, which was cordially granted,

262
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
and early in the autumn of 1862, set out for St. Louis to com.
mence her new work.
To a lady who had seen nothing of military life, of course, all
was strange. The experiment she was making was one in which
very many kind-hearted women have utterly failed—rushing to
hospitals from the impulse of a tender sympathy, only to make
themselves obnoxious to the surgeons by their impertinent zeal,
and, by their inexperience and indiscretion, useless, and some-
times detrimental, to the patients. With the wisdom that has
marked her course throughout, she at once comprehended the
delicacy of the situation, and was not long in perceiving what
she could best do, and wherein she could accomplish the most
good. The facility with which she brought, not only her own
best powers, but the influence universally accorded to her posi-
tion, to bear for the benefit of the suffering soldiers, is subject
of remark and wonder among all who have witnessed her labors.
At that time St. Louis was the theater of active military ope-
rations, and the hospitals were crowded with sick and wounded
from the camps and battle-fields of Missouri and Tennessee. The
army was not then composed of the hardy veterans whose prowess
has since carried victory into every rebellious State, but of boys
and young men unused to hardship, who, in the flush of enthu-
siasm, had entered the army. Time had not then brought to its
present perfection the work of the Medical Department, and but
for the spontaneous generosity of the people in sending forward
assistance and supplies for the sick and woundel, the army could
scarcely have existed. Such was the condition of things when
Mrs. Harvey commenced her work of mercy in visiting the hos-
pitals of that city, filled with the victims of battle and disease.
How from morning till night for many a weary week she waited
by the cots of these poor fellows, attending to their little wants,
and speaking words of cheer and comfort, those who knew her
then all well remember. The work at once became delightful
and profitable to her, calling her mind away from its own sorrows

MRS. CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY.
263
to the physical suffering of those around her. In her eagerness
to soothe their woes, she half forgot her own, and came to them
always with a joyous smile and words of cheerful consolation.
During her stay in St. Louis her home was at the hospitable
mansion of George Partridge, Esq., an esteemed member of the
Western Sanitary Commission, whose household seem to have
vied with cach other in attention and kindness to their guest.
Hearing of great suffering at Cape Girardeau, she went there
about the 1st of August, just as the First Wisconsin Cavalry
were returning from their terrible expedition through the swamps
of Arkansas. She had last seen them in all their pride and
manly beauty, reviewed by her husband, the Governor, before
they left their State. Now how changed! The strongest, they
that could stand, just tottering about, the very shadows of their
former selves. The building taken as a temporary hospital, was
filled to overflowing, and the surgeons were without hospital
supplies, the men subsisting on the common army ration alone.
The heat was oppressive, and the diseases of the most fearfully
contagious character. The surgeons themselves were appalled,
and the attendants shrank from the care of the sick and the
removal of the dead. In one room she found a corpse which
had evidently lain for many hours, the nurses fearing to go near
and see if the man was dead. With her own hands she bound
up the face, and emboldened by her coolness, the burial party
were induced to coffin the body and remove it from the house.
Here was a field för self-forgetfulness and heroic devotion to a
holy cause; and here the light of woman's sympathy shone
brightly when all else was fear and gloom. Patients dying with
tie noxious camp fever breathed into her ear their last messages
to loved ones at home, as she passed from cot to cot, undaunted
by the bolts of death which fell around her thick as on the
battle-field. She set herself to work procuring furloughs for such
as were able to travel, and discharges for the permanently dis-
abled, to get them away from a place of death. To this end she

2641
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
brought all the art of woman to work. Once convinced that the
ooject she sought was just and right, she left no honorable means
untried to secure it. Surgeons were flattered and coaxed, when-
ever coaxing and flattering availed; or, failing in this, she knew
when to administer a gentle threat, or an intimation that a report
might go up to a higher official. One resource failing she always
had another, and never attempted anything without carrying
it out.
Mrs. Harvey relates many touching incidents of her experience
at this place which want of space forbids us to repeat. One of her
first acts was to telegraph Mr. Yeatman, President of the Western
Sanitary Commission, at St. Louis, for hospital stores, and in two
days, by his promptness and liberality, she received an abundant
supply.
After several weeks' stay at Cape Girardeau, during which time
the condition of the hospital greatly improved, Mrs. Harvey
continued her tour of visitation which was to embrace all the
general hospitals on the Mississippi river, as well as the regimen-
tal hospitals of the troops of her own State. Her face, cheerful
with all the heart's burden of grief, gladdened every ward where
lay a Union soldier, from Keokuk as far down as the sturdy
legions of GRANT had regained possession of the Father of Waters.
At Memphis she was able to do great service in procuring fur-
loughs for men who would else have died. Often has the writer
heard brave men declare, with tearful eyes, their gratitude to her
for favors of this kind. Many came to have a strange and
almost superstitious reverence for a person exercising so power-
ful an influence, and using it altogether for the good of the com-
mun soldier. The estimate formed of her authority by some of
the more ignorant class, often exhibited itself in an extremely
Judicrous manner.
She would sometimes receive letters from
homesick men begging her to give them a furlough to visit their
families! and often, from deserters and others confined in military

MRS. CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY.
265
prisons, asking to be set at liberty, and promising faithful service
thereafter!
The spring of 1863 found General Grant making his approaches
upon the last formidable position held by the rebels on the Mis-
sissippi. Young's Point, across the river from Vicksburg, the
limit of uninterrupted navigation at that time, will be remem-
bered by many as a place of great suffering to our brave boys.
The high water covering the low lands on which they were
encamped during the famous canal experiment, induced much
sickness. Intent to be where her kind offices were most needed,
Mrs. Harvey proceeded thither about the first of April. After a
few weeks' labor, she, herself, overcome by the terrible miasma,
was taken seriously ill, and was obliged to return homeward.
Months of rest, and a visit to the sea-side, were required to bring
back a measure of her wonted strength, and so for the summer
her services were lost to the army.
But though for a while withheld from her chosen work, Mrs.
Harvey never forgot the sick soldier. Her observation while
with the army, convinced her of the necessity of establishing
general hospitals in the Northern States, where soldiers suffering
from diseases incurable in the South, might be sent with prospect of
recovery. Her own personal experience deepened her conviction,
and, although the plan found little favor then among high offi-
cials, she at once gave her heart to its accomplishment. Although
repeated efforts had been made in vain to lead the Government
into this policy, Mrs. Harvey determined to go to Washington
and make her plea in person to the president.
As the result of her interview with Mr. Lincoln, which was
of the most cordial character, a General Hospital was granted to
the State of Wisconsin; and none who visit the city of Madison
can fail to observe, with patriotic pride, the noble structure known
as Harvey Hospital. As proof of the service it has done, and
as fully verifying the arguments urged by Mrs. Harvey to secure
34

266
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
its establishment, the reader is referred to the reports of the sur-
geon in charge of the hospital.
Her mission at Washington accomplished, Mrs. Harvey returned
immediately home, where she soon received official intelligence
that the hospital would be located at Madison and be prepared for
the reception of patients at the earliest possible moment. Upon
this, she went immediately to Memphis, Tennessee, where she was
informed by the medical director of the Sixteenth Army Corps,
that there were over one hundred men in Fort Pickering (used
as a Convalescent Camp) who had been vacillating between camp
and hospital for a year, and who would surely die unless removed
North. At his suggestion, she accompanied these sick men up
the river, to get them, if possible, north of St. Louis. She
landed at Cairo, and proceeded to St. Louis by rail, and, on the
arrival of the transport, had transportation to Madison ready for
the men.
As they were needy, and had not been paid, she pro-
cured of the Western Sanitary Commission a change of clothing
for every one. Out of the whole number, only seven died, and
only five were discharged. The remainder returned, strong and
healthy, to the service.
Returning South, she visited all points on the river down to
New Orleans, coming back to make her home for the time at
Vicksburg, as the place nearest the centre of her field of labor.
The Superintendent and Matrons of the Soldiers' Home extended
to her a hearty welcome, happy to have their institution honored
by her presence, and receive her sympathizing and kindly aid.
So substantial was the reputation she had won among the army,
that her presence alone, at a military post in the West, was a power
for good. Officers and attendants in charge of hospitals knew
how quick she was to apprehend and bring to light any delin-
quency in the performance of their duties, and profited by this
knowledge to the mutual advantage of themselves and those
thrown
their
During the summer of 1864, the garrison of Vicksbury suffered
upon
care.

MRS. CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY.
267
much from diseases incident to the season in that latitude. Per-
haps in no regiment was the mortality greater than in the Second
Wisconsin Cavalry. Strong men sickened and died within a few
days, and others lingered on for weeks, wasting by degrees, till
only skin and bone were left. The survivors, in evidence of their
appreciation of her sympathy and exertions for them in their
need, presented her an elegant enameled gold watch, beautifully
bet with diamonds. The presentation was an occasion on which
she could not well avoid a public appearance, and those who were
present, must have wondered that one of such power in private
conversation should have so little control, even of her own feel-
irgs, before an assembly. Mrs. Harvey has never distinguished
herself as a public speaker. Resolute, impetuous, confident to a
degree bordering on the imperious, with power of denunciation to
equip an orator, she yet shrinks from the gaze of a multitude with
a woman's modesty, and the humility of a child. She does not
underestimate the worth of true womanhood by attempting to
act a distinctively manly part.
Although known as the agent of the State of Wisconsin, Mrs.
Harvey has paid little regard to state lines, and has done a truly
national work. Throughout the time of her stay with the army,
applications for her aid came as often from the soldiers of other
states as from those of her own, and no one was ever refused relief
if to obtain it was in her power. Acting in the character of a
friend to every Union soldier, from whatever state, she has had
the entire confidence of the great Sanitary Commissions, and ren-
dered to their agents invaluable aid in the distribution of goods,
The success that has everywhere attended Mrs. Harvey's efforts,
directly or indirectly, to benefit the soldier, has given to her life
an unusual charm, and established for her a national reputation.
In years to come, the war-scarred veteran will recount to list-
ening children around the domestic hearth, along with many a
thrilling deed of valor performed by his own right arm,
the angel
visits of this lady to his cot, when languishing with disease, or

268
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
how, when ready to die, her intercessions secured him a furlough,
and sent him home to feel the curative power of his native air
and receive the care of loving hands and hearts. Not a few un-
fortunates will remember, if they do not tell, how her care reached
them, not only in hospital but in prison as well, bringing clothing
and comfort to them when shivering in their rags; while others,
again, will not be ashamed to relate, as we have heard them, with
tears, their gratitude for release from unjust imprisonment, secured
by her faithful exertions.
The close of the war has brought Mrs. Harvey back to her
home, and closed her work for the soldiers. Her attention now
is turned in the direction of soothing the sorrows the war has
caused among the households of her State. Many a soldier who
has died for his country, has left his little ones to the charity of the
world. Through her exertions the State of Wisconsin now has
a Soldiers' Orphan Asylum, where all these children of our dead
heroes shall be gathered in. By a visit to Washington she has
recently obtained from the United States Government, the dona-
tion of its interest in Harvey Hospital, and has turned it into an
institution of this kind, and has set her hand and heart to the
work of securing from the people a liberal endowment for it.
Happy indeed has she been in her truly Christian work, begun
in sadness and opening into the joy that crowns every good work.
The benedictions of thousands of the brave and victorious rest
upon her, and the purest spirits of the martyred ones have her in
their gentle care! May America be blest with many more like
her to teach us by example the nature and practice of a true
Christian heroism.

MRS. SARAH R. JOHNSTON.
UR northern women have won the highest meed of
praise for their devotion and self-sacrifice in the cause
of their country, but great as their labors and sacrifices
have been, they are certainly inferior to those of some
of the loval women of the South, who for the love they bore to
their country and its flag, braved all the contempt, obloquy and
scorn which Southern women could heap upon them—who lived
for years in utter isolation from the society of relatives, friends,
and neighbors, because they would render such aid and succor as
was in their power to the defenders of the national cause, in
prison, in sorrow and in suffering. Often were the lives of those
brave women in danger, and the calmness with which they met
those who thirsted for their blood gave evidence of their position
of a spirit as undaunted and lofty as any which ever faced the
cannon's mouth or sought death in the high places of the field.
Among these heroines none deserves a higher place in the records
of womanly patriotism and courage than Mrs. Sarah R. John-
ston.
At the breaking out of the war Mrs. Johnston was teaching a
school at Salisbury, North Carolina, where she was born and
always resided. When the first prisoners were brought into that
place, the Southern women turned out in their carriages and with
a band escorted them through the town, and when they filed past
saluted them with contemptuous epithets. From that time Mrs.
Johnston determined to devote herself to the amelioration of the
269

270
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
condition of the prisoners; and the testimony of thousands of the
Union soldiers confined there proved how nobly she performed
the duties she undertook. It was no easy task, for she was
entirely alone, being the only woman who openly advocated
Union sentiments and attempted to administer to the wants of the
prisoners. For fifteen months none of the women of Salisbury
spoke to her or called upon her, and every possible indignity was
heaped on her as a “Yankee sympathizer.” Her scholars were
withdrawn from her school, and it was broken up, and her means
were very limited; nevertheless, she accomplished more by syste-
matic arrangements than many would have done with a large
outlay of money.
When the first exchange of prisoners was made, she went to
the depot to arrange some pallets for some of the sick who were
leaving, when she stumbled in the crowd, and looking down she
found a young Federal soldier who had fainted and fallen, and
was in danger of being trodden to death. She raised him
up
and
called for water, but none of the people would get a drop to save
a “Yankee's” life. Some of the soldiers who were in the cars
threw their canteens to her, and she succeeded in reviving him;
during this time the crowd heaped upon her every insulting epi-
thet they could think of, and her life even was in danger. But
she braved all, and succeeded in obtaining permission from
Colonel Godwin, then in command of the post, who was a kind-
hearted man, to let her remove him to her own house, promising
to take care of him as if he were her own son, and if he died to
give him Christian burial. He was in the last stages of con-
sumption, and she felt sure he would die if taken to the prison
hospital. None of the citizens of the place would even assist in
carrying him, and after a time two gentlemen from Richmond
steppeil forward and helped convey him to her house. There
she watched over him for hours, as he was in a terrible state from
neglect, having had blisters applied to his chest which had never
been dressed and were full of vermin.

MRS. SARAH R. JOHNSTON.
271
The poor boy, whose name was Hugh Berry, from Ohio, only
lived a few days, and she had a grave dug for him in her garden
in the night, for burial had been refused in the public grave-
yard, and she had been threatened that if she had him interred
decently his body should be dug up and buried in the street.
They even attempted to take his body from the house for that
purpose, but she stood at her door, pistol in hand, and said to
them that the first man who dared to cross her threshold for such
a purpose should be shot like a dog. They did not attempt it,
and she performed her promise to the letter.
During the first two years she was enabled to do a great many
acts of kindness for the prisoners, but after that time she was
watched very closely as a Yankee sympathizer, and the rules of
the prison were stricter, and what she could do was done by
strategy.
Her means were now much reduced, but she still continued in
her good work, cutting up her carpets and spare blankets to
make into moccasins, and when new squads of prisoners arrived,
supplied them with bread and water as they halted in front of
her house, which they were compelled to do for hours, waiting
the routine of being mustered into the prison. They were not
allowed to leave their ranks, and she would turn an old-fashioned
windlass herself for hours, raising water from her well; for the
prisoners were often twenty-four to forty-eight hours on the rail-
road without rations or water.
Generally the officer in command would grant her request, but
once a sergeant told her, in reply, if she gave any of them a drop
of water or a piece of bread, or dared to come outside her gate for
that purpose, he would pin her to the earth with his bayonet.
She defied him, and taking her pail of water in one hand, and a
basket of bread in the other, she walked directly past him on her
errand of mercy; he followed her, placing his bayonet between
her shoulders, just so that she could feel the cold steel. She
turned and coolly asked him why he did not pin her to the earth,

272
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
as he had threatened to do, but got no reply. Then some of
the rebels said, “Sergeant, you can't make anything on that
woman, you had better let her alone,” and she performed her
work unmolested.
Not content with these labors, she visited the burial-place
where the deceased Union prisoners of that loathsome prison-pen
at Salisbury were buried, and transcribed with a loving fidelity
every inscription which could be found there, to let the sorrow-
ing friends of those martyrs to their country know where their
beloved ones are laid. The number of these marked graves is
small, only thirty-one in all, for the greater part of the four or
five thousand dead starved and tortured there till they relin-
quished their feeble hold on life, were buried in trenches four or
five deep, and no record of their place of burial was permitted.
Mrs. Johnston also copied from the rebel registers at Salisbury
after the place was captured the statistics of the Union prisoners,
admitted, died, and remaining on hand in each month from
October, 1864, to April, 1865. The aggregates in these six
months were four thousand and fifty-four admitted, of whom two
thousand three hundred and ninety-seven died, and one thousand
six hundred and fifty-seven remained.
Mrs. Johnston came North in the summer of 1865, to visit her
daughter, who had been placed at a school in Connecticut by the
kindness of some of the officers she had befriended in prison;
transportation having been given her by Generals Schofield and
Carter, who testified to the services she had rendered our pri-
soners, and that she was entitled to the gratitude of the Govern-
ment and all loyal citizens.

EMILY E. PARSONS.
MONG the honorable and heroic women of New Eng-
land whose hearts were immediately enlisted in the cause
of their country, in its recent struggle against the rebel-
lion of the slave States, and who prepared themselves to
do useful service in the hospitals as nurses, was Miss Emily E. Par-
sons, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a daughter of Professor The-
ophilus Parsons, of the Cambridge Law School, and granddaugh-
ter of the late Chief Justice Parsons, of Massachusetts.
Miss Parsons was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, was educated
in Boston, and resided at Cambridge at the beginning of the war.
She at once foresaw that there would be need of the same heroic
work on the part of the women of the country as that performed
by Florence Nightingale and her army of women nurses in the
Crimea, and with her father's approval she consulted with Dr.
Wyman, of Cambridge, how she could acquire the necessary
instruction and training to perform the duties of a skilful nurse
in the hospitals. Through his influence with Dr. Shaw, the
superintendent of the Massachusetts General Hospital, she was
received into that institution as a pupil in the work of caring for
the sick, in the dressing of wounds, in the preparation of diet for
invalids, and in all that pertains to a well regulated hospital.
She was thoroughly and carefully instructed by the surgeons of
the hospital, all of whom took great interest in fitting her for the
important duties she proposed to undertake, and gave her every
opportunity to practice, with her own hands, the labors of a good
35
273

274
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
hospital nurse. Dr. Warren and Dr. Townshend, two distin-
guished surgeons, took special pains to give her all necessary
information and the most thorough instruction. At the end of
one year and a half of combined teaching and practice, she was
recommended by Dr. Townshend to Fort Schuyler Hospital, on
Long Island Sound, where she went in October, 1862, and for
two months performed the duties of hospital nurse, in the most
faithful and satisfactory manner, when she left by her father's
wishes, on account of the too great exposure to the sea, and went
to New York.
While in New York Miss Parsons wrote to Miss Dix, the
agent of the Government for the employment of women nurses,
offering her services wherever they might be needed, and received
an answer full of encouragement and sympathy with her wishes.
At the same time she also made the acquaintance of Mrs. John C.
Fremont, who wrote to the Western Sanitary Commission at St
Louis, of her qualifications and desire of usefulness in the hos-
pital service, and she was immediately telegraphed to come on at
ence to St. Louis.
At this time, January, 1863, every available building in St.
Louis was converted into a hospital, and the sick and wounded
were brought from Vicksburg, and Arkansas Post, and Helena
up
the river to be cared for at St. Louis and other military posts.
At Memphis and Mound City, (near Cairo) at Quincy, Illinois,
and the cities on the Ohio River, the hospitals were in equally
crowded condition. Miss Parsons went immediately to St. Louis
and was assigned by Mr. James E. Yeatman, (the President of
the Western Sanitary Commission, and agent for Miss Dix), to
the Lawson Hospital. In a few weeks, however, she was needed
for a still more important service, and was placed as head nurse
on the hospital steamer “City of Alton,” Surgeon Turner in
charge. A large supply of sanitary stores were entrusted to her
care by the Western Sanitary Commission, and the steamer pro-
ceeded to Vicksburg, where she was loaded pith about four

EMILY E. PARSONS.
275
hundred invalid soldiers, many of them sick past recovery, and
returned as far as Memphis. On this trip the strength and
endurance of Miss Parsons were tried to the utmost, and the min-
istrations of herself and her associates to the poor, helpless and
suffering men, several of whom died on the passage up the river,
were constant and unremitting. At Memphis, after transferring
the sick to the hospitals, an order was received from General
Grant to load the boat with troops and return immediately to
Vicksburg, an order prompted by some military exigency, and
Miss Parsons and the other female nurses were obliged to return
to St. Louis.
For a few weeks after her return she suffered from an attack
of malarious fever, and on her recovery was assigned to duty as
superintendent of female nurses at the Benton Barracks Hospital,
the largest of all the hospitals in St. Louis, built out of the an-
phitheatre and other buildings in the fair grounds of the St. Louis
Agricultural Society, and placed in charge of Surgeon Ira Russell,
an excellent physician from Natick, Mass. In this large hospital
there were often two thousand patients, and besides the male
nurses detailed from the
army,
the
corps
of female nurses con-
sisted of one to each of the fifteen or twenty wards, whose duty it
was to attend to the special diet of the feebler patients, to see that
the wards were kept in order, the beds properly made, the dressing
of wounds properly done, to minister to the wants of the patients,
and to give them words of good cheer, both by reading and con-
versation-softening the rougher treatment and manners of the
male nurses, by their presence, and performing the more delicate
offices of kindness that are natural to woman.
In this important and useful service these women nurses, many
of them having but little experience, needed one of their own
number of superior knowledge, judgment and experience, to super-
vise their work, counsel and advise with them, instruct them in
their duties, secure obedience to every necessary regulation, and
good order in the general administration of this important branch

276
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of hospital service. For this position Miss Parsons was most
admirably fitted, and discharged its duties with great fidelity and
success for many months, as long as Dr. Russell continued in
charge of the hospital. The whole work of female nursing was
reduced to a perfect system, and the nurses under Miss Parsons'
influence became a sisterhood of noble women, performing a great
and loving service to the maimed and suffering defenders of their
country. In the organization of this system and the framing of
wise rules for carrying it into effect Dr. Russell and Mr. Yeat-
man lent their counsel and assistance, and Dr. Russell, as the
chief surgeon, entertained those enlightened and liberal views
which
gave the system a full chance to accomplish the best results.
Under his administration, and Miss Parsons' superintendence of
the nursing, the Benton Barracks Hospital became famous for its
excellence, and for the rapid recovery of the patients.
It was not often that the army surgeons could be induced to
give so fair a trial to female nursing in the hospitals. Too often
they allowed their prejudices to interfere, and used their author-
ity to thwart instead of aid the best plans for making the services
of women all that was needed in the hospitals. But in the case of
Dr. Russell, enlightened judgment and humane sympathies com-
bined to make him friendly to the highest exertions of woman, in
this holy service of humanity. And the result entirely justified
the most sanguine expectations.
Having served six months in this capacity, Miss Parsons went
to her home at Cambridge, on a furlough from the Sanitary Com-
mission, to recruit her health. After a short period of rest she
returned to St. Louis and resumed her position at Benton Bar-
racks, in which she continued till August, 1864, when in conse-
quence of illness, caused by malaria, she returned to her home in
Cambridge a second time. On her recovery she concluded to
enter upon the same work in the eastern department, but the
return of peace, and the disbanding of a large portion of the army
rendered her services in the hospitals no longer necessary.

EMILY E. PARSONS.
277
From this time she devoted herself at home to working for the
freedmen and refugees, collecting clothing and garden seeds for
shem, many boxes of which she shipped to the Western Sanitary
Commission, at St. Louis, to be distributed in the Mississippi
Valley, where they were greatly needed, and were received as a
blessing from the Lord by the poor refugees and freedmen, who
in many instances were without the means to help themselves, or
to buy seed for the next year's planting.
In the spring of 1865, she took a great interest in the Sanitary
Fair held at Chicago, collected many valuable gifts for it, and
was sent for by the Committee of Arrangements to go out as one
of the managers of the department furnished by the New Jeru-
salem Church—the different churches having separate depart-
ments in the Fair. This duty she fulfilled, with great pleasure
and success, and the general results of the Fair were all that
could be desired.
Returning home from the Chicago Fair, and the war being
ended, Miss Parsons conceived a plan of establishing in her own
city of Cambridge, a Charity Hospital for poor women and chil-
dren. For this most praiseworthy object she has already collected
a portion of the necessary funds, which she has placed in the
hand of a gentleman who consents to act as Treasurer, and is
entirely confident of the ultimate success of her enterprise. There
is no doubt but that she possesses the character, good judgment,
Christian motive and perseverance to carry it through, and she
has the encouragement, sympathies and prayers of many friends
tJ sustain her in the noble endeavor.
In concluding this sketch of the labors of Miss Parsons in the
care and nursing of our sick and wounded soldiers, and in the
Sanitary and other benevolent enterprises called forth by the war,
it is but just to say that in every position she occupied she per-
formed her part with judgment and fidelity, and always brought
to her work a spirit animated by the highest motives, and
strengthened by communion with the Infinite Spirit, from whom

278
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
all love and wisdom come to aid and bless the children of inen.
Everywhere she went among the sick and suffering she brought
the sunshine of a cheerful and loving heart, beaming from a
countenance expressive of kindness, and good will and sympathy
to all. Her presence in the hospital was always a blessing, and
cheered and comforted many a despondent heart, and compensated
in some degree, for the absence of the loved ones at home. Her
gentle ministrations so faithful and cheering, might well have
received the reverent worship bestowed on the shadow of Florence
Nightingale, so admirably described by Longfellow in his Saint
Filomena:
“And slow, as in a dream of bliss
The speechless sufferer turned to kiss
Her shadow as it falls
Upon the darkening walls."

MRS. AL MIRA FALES.
M
late war.
RS. FALES, it is believed, was the first woman in
America who performed any work directly tending to
the aid and comfort of the soldiers of the nation in the
In truth, her labors commenced before any
overt acts of hostility had taken place, even so long before as
December, 1860. Hostility enough there undoubtedly was in
feeling, but the fires of secession as yet only smouldered, not
bursting into the lurid flames of war until the following spring.
Yet Mrs. Fales, from her home in Washington, was a keen
observer of the “signs of the times,” and read aright the portents
of rebellion. In her position, unobserved herself, she saw and
heard much, which probably would have remained unseen and
unheard by loyal eyes and ears, had the haughty conspirators
against the nation's life dreamed of any danger arising from the
knowledge of their projects, obtained by this humble woman.
So keen was the prescience founded on these things that, as has
been said, she, as early as December, 1860, scarcely a month after
the election of Abraham Lincoln, gave a pretext for secession
which its leaders were eager to avail themselves of, "began to
prepare lint and hospital stores for the soldiers of the Union, not
one of whom had then been called to take up arms.” .
Of course, she was derided for this act. Inured to peace, seem-
, -
ingly more eager for the opening of new territory, the spread of
commerce, the gain of wealth and power than even for the highest
national honor, the North would not believe in the possibility of
279

280
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
war until the boom of the guns of Sumter, reverberating from
the waves of the broad Atlantic, and waking the echoes all along
its shores, burst upon their ears to tell in awful tones that it had
indeed commenced.
But there was one—a woman in humble life, yet of wonderful
benevolence, of indomitable energy, unflagging perseverance, and
unwavering purpose, who foresaw its inevitable coming and was
prepared for it.
Almira Fales was no longer young. She had spent a life in
doing good, and was ready to commence another. Her husband
had employment under the government in some department of
the civil service, her sons entered the army, and she, too,-a
soldier, in one sense, as truly as they-since she helped and
cheered on the fight.
From that December day that commenced the work, until long
after the war closed, she gave herself to it, heart and soul-mind
and body. No one, perhaps, can tell her story of work and hard-
ship in detail, not even herself, for she acts rather than talks or
writes. “Such women, always doing, never think of pausing to
tell their own stories, which, indeed, can never be told; yet the
hint of them can be given, to stir in the hearts of other women
a purer emulation, and to prove to them that the surest way to
happiness is to serve others and forget yourself.”
In detail we have only this brief record of what she has done,
yet what volumes it contains, what a history of labor and of self-
sacrifice !
“After a life spent in benevolence, it was in December, 1860,
that Almira Fales began to prepare lint and hospital stores for
the soldiers of the Union, not one of whom had then been called
to take up arms. People laughed, of course; thought it a 'freak;'
said that none of these things would ever be needed. Just as the
venerable Dr. Mott said, at the women's meeting in Cooper Insti-
tute, after Sumter liad been fired: Go ladies! Get
lint
ready, if it will do your dear hearts any good, though I don't
your
on,

MRS. ALMIRA FALES.
281
men.
believe myself that it will ever be needed.' Since that December
Mrs. Fales has emptied over seven thousand boxes of hospital
stores, and distributed with her own hands over one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars worth of comforts to sick and wounded
soldiers. Besides, she supplied personally between sixty and
se venty forts with reading matter. She was months at seathe
only woman on hospital ships nursing the wounded and dying
She was at Corinth, and at Pittsburg Landing, serving our
men in storm and darkness. She was at Fair Oaks. She was
under fire through the seven days' fight on the Peninsula, with
almost breaking heart ministering on those bloody fields to the
saddest creatures that she ever saw.'
“Through all those years, every day, she gave her life, her
strength, her nursing, her mother-love to our soldiers. For her
to be a soldier's nurse meant something very different from wear-
ing a white apron, a white cap, sitting by a moaning soldier's bed,
looking pretty. It meant days and nights of untiring toil; it
meant the lowliest office, the most menial service; it meant the
renouncing of all personal comfort, the sharing of her last pos-
session with the soldier of her country; it meant patience, and
watching, and unalterable love. A mother, every boy who fought
for his country was her boy; and if she had nursed him in infancy,
she could not have cared for him with a tenderer care. Journey
after journey this woman has performed to every part of the land,
carrying with her some wounded, convalescing soldier, bearing
him to some strange cottage that she never saw before, to the pale,
weeping woman within, saying to her with smiling face, 'I have
brought back your boy. Wipe your eyes, and take care of him.
Then, with a fantastic motion, tripping away as if she were not
tired at all, and had done nothing more than run across the street.
Thousands of heroes on earth and in heaven gratefully remember
this woman's loving care to them in the extremity of anguish.
The war ended, her work does not cease. Every day you may
find her, with her heavily-laden basket, in hovels of white and
36

282
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
black, which dainty and delicate ladies would not dare to enter.
No wounds are so loathsome, no disease so contagious, no human
being so abject, that she shrinks from contact, if she can minister
to their necessity.”
During the Peninsular campaign Mrs. Fales was engaged on
board the Hospital Transports, during most of the trying season
of 1862. She was at Harrison's Landing in care of the wounded
and wearied men worn down by the incessant battles and hard
marches which attended the “change of base” from the Chicka-
hominy to the James. She spent a considerable time in the
hospitals at Fortress Monroe; and was active in her ministra-
tions upon the fields in the battles of Centreville, Chantilly, and
the second battle of Bull Run, indeed most of those of Pope's
campaign in Virginia in the autumn of 1862.
At the battle of Chancellorsville, or rather at the assault upon
Marye’s Heights, in that fierce assault of Sedgwick's gallant
Sixth Corps on the works which had on the preceding December
defied the repeated charges of Burnside's best troops, Mrs. Fales
About one-third of the attacking force were killed
or badly wounded in the assault, and among the rest the son of
this devoted mother, who at that very hour might have been
ministering to the wounded and dying son of some other mother.
This loss was to her but a stimulus to further efforts and sacrifices.
She mourned as deeply as any mother, but not as selfishly, as
some might have done. In this, as in all her ways of life, she
but carried out its ruling principle which was self-devotion, and
deeds not words.
Mrs. Fales may not, perhaps, be held up as an example of
harmonious development, but she has surely shown herself great
in self-forgetfulness and heroic devotion to the cause of her
country. In person she is tall, plain in dress, and with few of
the fashionable and stereotyped graces of manner. No longer
young, her face still bears ample traces of former beauty, and her
lost a son.

MRS. AL MIRA FALES.
283
large blue eyes still beam with the clear brightness of youth.
But her hands tell the story of hardship and sacrifice.
“Poor hands! darkened and hardened by work, they never
shirked any task, never turned from any drudgery, that could
lighten the load of another. Dear hands! how many blood-
stained faces they have washed, how many wounds they have
bound
up, how many eyes they have closed in dying, how many
bodies they have sadly yielded to the darkness of death!”
She is full of a quaint humor, and in all her visits to hospitals
her aim seemed to be to awake smiles, and arouse the cheerful-
ness of the patients; and she was generally successful in this,
being everywhere a great favorite. One more quotation from the
written testimony of a lady who knew her well and we have
done.
“An electric temperament, a nervous organization, with a brain
crowded with a variety of memories and incidents that could only
come to one in a million-all combine to give her a pleasant
abruptness of motion and of speech, which I have heard some
very fine ladies term insanity. “Now don't you think she is
crazy, to spend all her time in such ways?' said one.
When we
remember how rare a thing utter unselfishness and self-forgetful-
ness is, we must conclude that she is crazy. If the listless and
idle lives which we live ourselves are perfectly sane, then Almira
Fales must be the maddest of mortals. But would it not be
better for the world, and for us all, if we were each of us a little
crazier in the saine direction?”

MISS CORNELIA HANCOCK.
MONG the most zealous and untiring of the women
who ministered to the wounded men “at the front,"
in the long and terrible campaign of the Army of the
Potomac in 1864-5, was Miss Cornelia Hancock, of
Philadelphia. Of this lady's early history or her previous labors
in the war, we have been unable to obtain any very satisfactory
information. She had, we are told, been active in the United
States General Hospitals in Philadelphia, and had there learned
what wounded men nced in the way of food and attention. She
had also rendered efficient services at Gettysburg. Of her work
among the wounded men at Belle Plain and Fredericksburg, Mr.
John Vassar, one of the most efficient agents of the Christian
Commission, writes as follows:
“Miss Cornelia Hancock was the first lady who arrived at
Fredericksburg to aid in the care of the wounded. As one of the
many interesting episodes of the war, it has seemed that her good
deeds should not be unheralded. She was also among the
very
first to arrive at Gettysburg after the fearful struggle, and for days
and weeks ministered unceasingly to the suffering. During the
past winter she remained constantly with the army in winter
quarters, connecting herself with the Second Division of the
Second Corps. So attached were the soldiers, and so grateful for
her ministration in sickness, that they built a house for her, in
which she remained until the general order for all to leave was
given.
284

MISS CORNELIA HANCOCK.
285
“When the news of Grant's battles reached the North, Miss
Hancock left Philadelphia at once for Washington. Several ap-
plications were made by Members of Congress at the War Depart-
ment for a permit for her to go to the wounded. It was each time
declined, as being unfeasible and improper. With a woman's tact,
she made application to go with one of the surgeons then arriving, ,
as assistant, as each surgeon was entitled to one. The plan suc-
ceeded, and I well remember the mental ejaculation made when I
saw her at such a time on the boat. I lost sight of her at Belle
Plain, and had almost forgotten the circumstance, when, shortly
before our arrival at Fredericksburg, she passed in an ambulance.
On being assigned to a hospital of the Second Corps, I found she
had preceded me, and was earnestly at work. It was no fictitious
effort, but she had already prepared soup and farina, and was
lispensing it to the crowds of poor fellows lying thickly about.
"All day she worked, paying little attention to others, only assi-
duous in her sphere. When, the next morning, I opened a new
hospital at the Methodist Church, I invited her to accompany me;
she did so; and if success and amelioration of suffering attended
the effort, it was in no small degree owing to her indefatigable
labors. Within an hour from the time one hundred and twenty
had been placed in the building, she had seen that good beef soup
and coffee was administered to each, and during the period I was
there, no delicacy or nutriment attainable was wanting to the
men,
“Were any dying, she sat by to soothe their last moments, to
receive the dying message to friends at home, and when it was
over to convey by letter the sad intelligence. Let me rise ever so
early, she had already preceded me at work, and during the many
long hours of the day, she never seemed to weary or flag; in the
evening, when all in her own hospital had been fully cared for,
she would go about the town with delicacies to administer to
officers who were so situated they could not procure them. At
night she sought a garret (and it was literally one) for her rest.

286
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
“One can but feebly portray the ministrations of such a person.
She belonged to no association—had no compensation. She com-
manded respect, for she was lady-like and well educated; so quiet
and undemonstrative, that her presence was hardly noticed, except
by the smiling faces of the wounded as she passed. While she
supervised the cooking of the meats and soups and coffee, all nice
things were made and distributed by herself. How the men
watched for the dessert of farina and condensed milk, and those
more severely wounded for the draughts of milk punch!
“Often would she make visits to the offices of the Sanitary and
Christian Commissions, and when delicacies arrived, her men
were among the first to taste them. Oranges, lemons, pickles, soft
bread and butter, and even apple-sauce, were one or the other daily
distributed. Such unwearied attention is the more appreciated,
when one remembers the number of females who subsequently
arrived, and the desultory and fitful labor performed. Passing
from one hospital to another, and bestowing general sympathy,
with small works, is not what wounded men want. It was very
soon perceptible how the men in that hospital appreciated the
solid worth of the one and the tinsel of the other.
“This imperfect recognition is but a slight testimonial to the
lady-like deportment and the untiring labors in beha f of sick
and wounded soldiers of Miss Hancock."

MRS MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
HERE are some noble souls whose devotion to duty, to
the welfare of the suffering and sorrowing, and to the
work which God has set before them, is so complete
that it leaves them no time to think of themselves, and
no consciousness that what they have done or are doing, is in any
way remarkable. To them it seems the most natural thing in the
world to undergo severe hardships and privations, to suffer the
want of all things, to peril health and even life itself, to endure
the most intense fatigue and loss of rest, if by so doing they may
relieve another's pain or soothe the burdened and aching heart;
and with the utmost ingenuousness, they will avow that they have
done nothing worthy of mention; that it is the poor soldier who
has been the sufferer, and has made the only sacrifices worthy of
the name.
The worthy and excellent lady who is the subject of this sketch,
is one of the representative women of this class. Few, if
any,
have passed through more positive hardships to serve the soldiers
than she; but few have as little consciousness of them.
Mrs. Mary Morris Husband, is a granddaughter of Robert
Morris, the great financier of our Revolutionary War, to whose
abilities and patriotism it was owing that we had a republic at
all. She is, in her earnest patriotism, well worthy of her ancestry.
Her husband, a well-known and highly respectable member of
the Philadelphia bar, her two sons and herself constituted her
household at the commencement of the war, and her quiet home
287

288
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
in the Quaker City, was one of the pleasantest of the many de-
lightful homes in that city. The patriotic instincts were strong
in the family; the two sons enlisted in the army at the very be-
ginning of the conflict, one of them leaving his medical studies to
do so; and the mother, as soon as there was any hospital work to
do was fully prepared to take her part in it. She had been in
poor health for some years, but in her anxiety to render aid
to the suffering, her own ailings were forgotten. She was an
admirable nurse and a skilful housewife and cook, and her first
efforts for the sick and wounded soldiers in Philadelphia, were
directed to the preparation of suitable and palatable food for
them, and the rendering of those attentions which should relieve
the irksomeness and discomforts of sickness in a hospital. The
hospital on Twenty-second and Wood streets, Philadelphia, was
the principal scene of these labors.
But the time had come for other and more engrossing labors
for the sick and wounded, and she was to be inducted into them
by the avenue of personal anxiety for one of her sons. In that
fearful “change of base” which resulted in the seven days' battle
on the peninsula, when from the combined influence of marsh
malaria, want of food, overmarching, the heat and fatigue of
constant fighting, and the depression of spirits incident to the un-
expected retreat, more of our men fell down with mortal sickness
than were slain or wounded in the battles, one of Mrs. Husband's
sons was among the sufferers from disease, and word was sent to
her that he was at the point of death. She hastened to nurse
him, and after a great struggle and frequent relapses, he rallied
and began to recover. Meantime she had not been so wholly
engrossed with her care for him as to be neglectful of the hundreds
and thousands around, who, like him, were suffering from the
deadly influences of that pestilential climate and soil, or of the
wounded who were wearing out their lives in agony, with but
scant attention or care; and every moment that could be spared
from her sick boy, was given to the other sufferers around her.

MRS. MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
289
It was in this period of her work that she rendered the service
to a young soldier, now a physician of Brooklyn, New York, so
graphically described in the following extract from a letter ad-
dressed to the writer of this sketch :
“I was prostrated by a severe attack of camp dysentery, stag-
nant water and unctuous bean soup not being exactly the diet for
a sick person to thrive on. I got “no better” very rapidly,
till at length, one afternoon, I lay in a kind of stupor, conscious
that I was somewhere, though where, for the life of me I could not
say. As I lay in this state, I imagined I heard my name spoken,
and opening my eyes with considerable effort, I saw bending over
me a female form. I think the astonishment restored me to per-
fect consciousness (though some liquor poured into my mourh at
the same time, may have been a useful adjunct). As soon as I
could collect myself sufficiently, I discovered the lady to be a Mrs.
Husband, who, with a few other ladies, had just arrived on one
of the hospital boats. Having lost my own mother when a mere
child, you may imagine the effect her tender nursing had upon
me,
and when she laid her hand upon my forehead, all pain
seemed to depart. I sank into a sweet sleep, and awoke the next
morning refreshed and strengthened in mind and in body. From
that moment my recovery was rapid, and in ten days I returned
to my duty."
As her son began to recover, she resolved, in her thankfulness
for this mercy, to devote herself to the care of the sick and
wounded of the army. She was on one of the hospital transports
off Harrison's Landing, when the rebels bombarded it, and though
it was her first experience “under fire,” she stood her ground like
a veteran, manifesting no trepidation, but pursuing her work of
caring for the sick as calmly as if in perfect safety. Finding that
she was desirous of rendering assistance in the care of the disabled
soldiers, she was assigned, we believe, by the Sanitary Commission,
to the position of Lady Superintendent of one of the hospital trans-
ports which bore the wounded and sick to New York. She made
37

290
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
four trips on these vessels, and her faithful attention to the sick, her
skilful nursing, and her entire forgetfulness of self, won for her
the hearty esteem and regard of all on board. The troops being
all transferred to Acquia Creek and Alexandria, Mrs. Husband
went to Washington, and endeavored to obtain a pass and trans-
portation for supplies to Pope's army, then falling back, foot by
foot, in stern but unavailing resistance to Lee's strong and tri-
umphant force. These she was denied, but Miss Dix requested
her to take charge temporarily of the Camden Street Hospital,
at Baltimore, the matron of which had been stricken down with
illness. After a few weeks' stay here, she relinquished her posi-
tion, and repaired to Antietam, where the smoke of the great
battle was just rolling off over the heights of South Mountain.
Here, at the Smoketown Hospital, where the wounded from
French's and some other divisions were gathered, she found
abundant employment, and at the request of that able surgeon
and excellent man, Dr. Vanderkieft, she remained in charge two
months. Mrs. Harris was with her here for a short time, and
Miss Maria M. C. Hall, during her entire stay. Her presence at
this hospital brought perpetual sunshine. Arduous as were her
labors, for there were very many desperately wounded, and quite
as many dangerously sick, she never manifested weariness or im-
patience, and even the sick and wounded men, usually exacting,
because forgetful of the great amount of labor which their condi-
tion imposes upon the nurses, wondered that she never manifested
fatigue, and that she was able to accomplish so much as she did.
Often did they express their anxiety lest she should be compelled
from weariness and illness to leave them, but her smiling, cheerful
face reassured them. She and Miss Hall occupied for themselves
and their stores, a double hospital tent, and let the weather be
what it might, she was always at her post in the hospitals promptly
at her hours, and dispensed with a liberal hand to those who
needed, the delicacies, the stimulants, and medicines they required.
She had made a flag for her tent by sewing upon a breadth of

MRS. MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
291
calico a figure of a bottle cut out of red flannel, and the bottle-
flag flew to the wind at all times, indicative of the medicines which
were dispensed from the tent below. We have endeavored to give
a view of this tent, from which came daily such quantities of deli-
cacies, such excellent milk-punch to nourish and support the
patients whose condition was most critical, such finely flavored
flaxseed tea for the army of patients suffering from pulmonic dis-
eases (“her flaxseed tea,” says one of her boys,“ was never insipid”),
lemonades for the feverish, and something for every needy patient.
See her as she comes out of her tent for her round of hospital
duties, a substantial comely figure, with a most benevolent and
motherly face, her hands filled with the good things she is bearing
to some of the sufferers in the hospital; she has discarded hoops,
believing with Florence Nightingale, that they are utterly incom-
patible with the duties of the hospital; she has a stout serviceable
apron nearly covering her dress, and that apron is a miracle of
pockets; pockets before, behind, and on each side; deep, wide
pockets, all stored full of something which will benefit or amuse
her "boys;” an apple, an orange, an interesting book, a set of
chess-men, checkers, dominoes, or puzzles, newspapers, magazines,
everything desired, comes out of those capacious pockets. As
she enters a ward, the whisper passes from one cot to another,
that “mother” is coming, and faces, weary with pain, brighten at
her approach, and sad hearts grow glad as she gives a cheerful
smile to one, says a kind word to another, administers a glass of
her punch or lemonade to a third, hands out an apple or an
orange to a fourth, or a book or game to a fifth, and relieves the
hospital of the gloom which seemed brooding over it. But not in
these ways alone does she bring comfort and happiness to these
poor wounded and fever-stricken men. She encourages them to
confide to her their sorrows and troubles, and the heart that, like
the caged bird, has been bruising itself against the bars of its cage,
from grief for the suffering or sorrow of the loved ones at home
or oftener still, the soul that finds itself on the confines of an un-

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WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
known hereafter, and is filled with distress at the thought of the
world to come, pours into her attentive ear, the story of its sor-
rows, and finds in her a wise and kind counsellor and friend, and
learns from her gentle teachings to trust and hope.
Hers was a truly heroic spirit. Darkness, storm, or contagion,
had no terrors for her, when there was suffering to be alleviated,
or anguish to be soothed. Amid the raging storms of the severe
winter of 1862–3, she often left her tent two or three times in the
night and went round to the beds of those who were apparently
near death, from the fear that the nurses might neglect something
which needed to be done for them. When diphtheria raged in
the hospital, and the nurses fearing its contagious character, fled
from the bed-sides of those suffering from it, Mrs. Husband
devoted herself to them night and day, fearless of the exposure,
and where they died of the terrible disease received and forwarded
to their friends the messages of the dying..
It is no matter of surprise that when the time came for her to
leave this hospital, where she had manifested such faithful and
self-sacrificing care and tenderness for those whom she knew only
as the defenders of her country, those whom she left, albeit un-
used to the melting mood, should have wept at losing such a
friend. “There were no dry eyes in that hospital,” says one
who was himself one of its inmates; "all, from the strong man
ready again to enter the ranks to the poor wreck of humanity
lying on his death-bed gave evidence of their love for her, and
sorrow at her departure in copious tears. On her
On her way home she
stopped for an hour or two at camps A and B in Frederick,
Maryland, where a considerable number of the convalescents
from Antietam had been sent, and these on discovering her, sur-
rounded her ambulance and greeted her most heartily, seeming
almost wild with joy at seeing their kind friend once more.
After a brief stay at Philadelphia, during which she visited the
Hospitals almost constantly, she hastened again to the front, and
at Falmouth early in 1863, after that fearful and disastrous

MRS. MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
293
battle of Fredericksburg she found ample employment for her
active and energetic nature. As matron of Humphreys' Division
Hospital (Fifth Corps) she was constantly engaged in ministering
to the comfort of the wounded, and her solicitude for the welfare
and prosperity of the men did not end with their discharge from
the hospital. The informalities or blunders by which they too
often lost their pay and were sometimes set down as deserters
attracted her attention, and so far as possible she always procured
the correction of those errors. Early in April, 1863, she made a
flying visit to Philadelphia, and thus details in a letter to a
friend, at the time the kind and amount of labor which almost
always filled up every hour of those journeys. “Left Monday
evening for home, took two discharged soldiers with me; heard
that I could not get a pass to return; so instead of going directly
through, stayed in Washington twenty-four hours, and fought a
battle for a pass. I came off conqueror of course, but not until
wearied almost to death—my boys in the meantime had gotten
their pay—so I took them from the Commission Lodge (where I
had taken them on arriving) to the cars, and off for Baltimore.
There I placed them in the care of one of the gentlemen of the
Relief Associations, and arrived home at 1.30 A. M. I carried
money home for some of the boys, and had business of my own
to attend to, keeping me constantly going on Wednesday and
Thursday; left at midnight (Thursday night) for Washington,
took the morning boat and arrived here this afternoon.” This
record of five days of severe labor such as few men could have
gone through without utter prostration, is narrated in her letter
to her friend evidently without a thought that there was any-
thing extraordinary in it; yet it was in a constant succession of
labors as wearing as this that she lived for full three years of her
army life.
Immediately after the battles of Chancellorsville she went to
United States Ford, but was not allowed to cross, and joined twe
Maine ladies at the hospital on the north side of the Rappahan-

294
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE (IVIL WAR.
nock, where they dressed wounds until dark, slept in an ambu-
lance, and early in the morning went to work again, but were
soon warned to leave, as it was supposed that the house used as a
hospital would be shelled. They left, and about half a mile far-
ther on found the hospital of the Third and Eleventh Corps.
Here the surgeon in charge urged Mrs. Husband to remain and
assist him, promising her transportation. She accordingly left her
ambulance and dressed wounds until midnight. By this time
the army was in full retreat and passing the hospital. The sur-
geon forgot his promise, and taking care of himself, left her to get
away as best she could. It was pitch dark and the rain pouring
in torrents. She was finally offered a part of the front seat of an
army (medicine) wagon, and after riding two or three miles on
the horrible roads the tongue of the wagon broke, and she was
compelled to sit in the drenching rain for two or three hours till
the guide could bring up an ambulance, in which she reached
Falmouth the next day.
The hospital of which she was lady matron was broken up at
the time of this battle, but she was immediately installed in the
same position in the hospital of the Third Division of the Third
Corps, then filled to overflowing with the Chancellorsville
wounded. Here she remained until compelled to move North
with the army by Lee's raid into Pennsylvania in June and
July, 1863
On the 3d of July, the day of the last and fiercest of the
Gettysburg battles, Mrs. Husband, who had been, from inability
to get permission to go to the front, passing a few anxious days
at Philadelphia, started for Gettysburg, determined to go to the
aid and relief of the soldier boys, who, she well knew, needed
her services. She reached the battle-field on the morning of the
4th by way of Westminster, in General Meade's mail-wagon.
She made her way at first to the hospital of the Third Corps, and
labored there till that as well as the other field hospitals were
broken up, when she devoted herself to the wounded in Camp

MRS. MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
295
Letterman. Here she was attacked with miasmatic fever, but
struggled against it with all the energy of her nature, remaining
for three weeks ill in her tent. She was at length carried home,
but as soon as she was convalescent, went to Camp Parole at
Annapolis, as agent of the Sanitary Commission, to fill the place
of Miss Clara Davis, (now Mrs. Edward Abbott), who was pros-
trated by severe illness induced by her severe and continued
labors.
In December, 1863, she accepted the position of matron to her
old hospital, (Third Division of the Third Corps), then located
at Brandy Station, where she remained till General Grant's order
issued on the 15th of April caused the removal of all civilians
from the army.
A month had not elapsed, before the terrible slaughter of the
“Wilderness” and “Spottsylvania,” had made that part of Vir-
ginia a field of blood, and Mrs. Husband hastened to Fredericks-
burg where no official now barred her progress with his “red
tape” prohibitions; here she remained till the first of June, toiling
incessantly, and then moving on to Port Royal and White House,
where the same sad scenes were repeated, and where, amid so
much suffering and horror, it was difficult to banish the feeling
of depression. At White House, she took charge of the low diet
kitchen for the whole Sixth Corps, to which her division had
been transferred. The number of wounded was very large, this
corps having suffered severely in the battle of Cold Harbor, and
her duties were arduous, but she made no complaint, her heart
being at rest, if she could only do something for her brave soldier
boys.
When the base was transferred to City Point, she made her
way to the Third Division, Sixth Corps' Hospital at the front,
where she remained until the Sixth Corps were ordered to the
Shenandoah Valley, when she took charge of the low diet kitchen
of the Second Corps' Hospital at City Point, and remained there
until the end. Her labors among the men in this hospital were

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WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
constant and severe, but she won all hearts by her tenderness,
cheerfulness, and thoughtful consideration of the needs of every
particular case. Each one of those under her care felt that she
was specially his friend, and interesting and sometimes amusing
were the confidences imparted to her, by the poor fellows. The
one bright event of the day to all was the visit of “Mother” Hus-
band to their ward. The apron, with its huge pockets, always
bore some welcome gift for each, and however trifling it might be
in itself, it was precious as coming from her hands. Her friends
in Philadelphia, by their constant supplies, enabled her to dis-
pense many articles of comfort and luxury to the sick and
wounded, which could not otherwise have been furnished.
On the 6th of May, 1865, Mrs. Husband was gratified by
the sight of our gallant army marching through Richmond. As
they passed, in long array, they recognized her, and from hun-
dreds of the soldiers of the Second, Third, and Sixth Corps, rang
out the loud and hearty “Hurrah for Mother Husband!” while
their looks expressed their gratitude to one who had been their
firm and faithful friend in the hour of suffering and danger.
Mrs. Husband felt that she must do something more for her
“boys” before they separated and returned to their distant homes;
she therefore left Richmond immediately, and traveling with her
accustomed celerity, soon reached Philadelphia, and gathering up
from her liberal friends and her own moderate means, a sufficient
sum to procure the necessary stores, she returned with an ample
supply, met the soldiers of the corps to which she had been
attached at Bailey's Cross Roads, and there spent six or seven
days in distributing to them the clothing and comforts which they
needed. Her last opportunity of seeing them was a few days
later at the grand review in Washington.
There was one class of services which Mrs. Husband rendered
to the soldiers, which we have not mentioned, and in which we
believe she had no competitor. In the autumn of 1863, her
attention was called to the injustice of the finding and sentence of

MRS. MARY MORRIS HUSBAND.
297
a court martial, which had tried a private soldier for some allegedi
offence and sentenced him to be shot. She investigated the case
and, with some difficulty, succeeded in procuring his pardon froin
the President.
She began from this time to take an interest in these cases of
trial by summary court martial, and having a turn for legal inves-
tigation, to which her early training and her husband's profession
had inclined her, and a clear judicial mind, she made each one
her study, and though she found that there were some cases in
which summary punishment was merited, yet the majority were
deserving of the interposition of executive clemency, and she
became their advocate with the patient and kind-hearted Lincoln.
In scores of instances she secured, not without much difficulty,
and some abuse from officials “dressed in a little brief authority,”
who disliked her keen and thorough investigation of their pro-
ceedings, the pardon or the commutation of punishment of those
sentenced to death. Rarely, if ever, did the President turn a deaf
ear to her pleadings; for he knew that they were prompted by
no sinister motive, or simple humane impulse. Every case which
she presented had been thoroughly and carefully examined, and
her knowledge of it was so complete, that he felt he might safely
trust her.
Through all these multifarious labors and toils, Mrs. Husband
has received no compensation from the Government or the Sani-
tary Commission. She entered the service as a volurteer, and
her necessities have been met from her own means, and she has
also given freely to the soldiers and to their families from her not
Her reward is in the sublime consciousness of
liaving been able to accomplish an amount of good which few
could equal. All over the land, in hundreds of homes, in thou-
sands of hearts, her name is a household word, and as the mother
looks upon her son, the wife upon her husband, the child upon
its father, blessings are breathed forth upon her through whose
skilful care and watchful nursing these loved ones are spared to
over-full purse.
38

298
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
be a joy and support. The contributions and mementoes pre-
sented by her soldier boys form a large and very interesting
museum in her home. There are rings almost numberless, carved
from animal bones, shells, stone, vulcanite, etc., miniature tablets,
books, harps, etc., inlaid from trees or houses of historic memory,
minie bullets, which have traversed bone and flesh of patient suf-
ferers, and shot and shell which have done their part in destroy-
ing the fortresses of the rebellion. Each memento has its history,
and all are precious in the eyes of the recipient, as a token of the
love of those whom she has watched and nursed.
Her home is the Mecca of the soldiers of the Army of the
Potomac, and if any of them are sick or in distress in Philadel-
phia, Mother Husband hastens at once to their relief. Late may
she return to the skies; and when at last in the glory of a ripe
and beautiful old age, she lies down to rest, a grateful people shall
inscribe on her monument, “Here lies all that was mortal of one
whom all delighted to honor.”

HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
MONG the deeds which entitle the United States Sani-
tary Commission to the lasting gratitude of the Amer-
ican people, was the organization and maintenance of
the “Hospital Transport Service” in the Spring and
Summer of 1862. When the Army of the Potomac removed
from the high lands about Washington, to the low marshy and
miasmatic region of the Peninsula, it required but little discern-
ment to predict that extensive sickness would prevail among the
troops; this, and the certainty of sanguinary battles soon to ensue,
which would multiply the wounded beyond all previous prece-
dents, were felt, by the officers of the Sanitary Commission, as
affording sufficient justification, if any were needed for making an
effort to supplement the provision of the Medical Bureau, which
could not fail to be inadequate for the coming emergency. Ac-
cordingly early in April, 1862, Mr. F. L. Olmstead, the Secretary
of the Commission, having previously secured the sanction of
the Medical Bureau, made application to the Quartermaster-Gen-
eral to allow the Commission to take in hand some of the trans-
port steamboats of his department, of which a large number were
at that time lying idle, to fit them up and furnish them in all
respects suitable for the reception and care of sick and wounded
men, providing surgeons and other necessary attendance without
cost to Government. After tedious delays and disappointments
of various kinds-one fine large boat having been assigned, par-
tially furnished by the Commission, and then withdrawn-an
299

300
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
order was at length received, authorizing the Commission to take
possession of any of the Government transports, not in actual
use, which might at that time be lying at Alexandria. Under
this authorization the Daniel Webster was assigned to the Com-
mission on the 25th of April, and having been fitted up, the
stores shipped, and the hospital corps for it assembled, it reached
York River on the 30th of April.
Other boats were subsequently, (several of them, very soon)
assigned to the Commission, and were successively fitted up, and
after receiving their freights of sick and wounded, sent to Wash-
ington, Philadelphia, New York and other points with their
precious cargoes, which were to be transferred to the general hos-
pitals. Among these vessels were the “Ocean Queen,” the “S.
R. Spaulding,” the “Elm City,” the “Daniel Webster," No. 2,
the “Knickerbocker,” the clipper ships Euterpe and St. Mark,
and the Commission chartered the “Wilson Small," and the
“Elizabeth,” two small steamers, as tender and supply boats.
The Government were vacillating in their management in
regard to these vessels, often taking them from the Commis-
sion just when partially or wholly fitted up, on the plea of
requiring them for some purpose and assigning another vessel,
often poorly adapted to their service, on board of which the labor
of fitting and supplying must be again undergone, when that too
would be withdrawn.
To each of these hospital transports several ladies were assigned
by the Commission to take charge of the diet of the patients,
assist in dressing their wounds, and generally to care for their
comfort and welfare. Mr. Olmstead, and Mr. Knapp, the Assist-
ant Secretary, had also in their company, or as they pleasantly
called them, members of their staff, four ladies, who remained in
the service, not leaving the vicinity of the Peninsula, until the
transfer of the troops to Acquia Creek and Alexandria late in
August. These ladies remained for the most part on board the
Daniel Webster, or the Wilson Small, or wherever the headquar-

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
301
ters of the Commission in the field might be. Their duties
consisted in nursing, preparing food for the sick and wounded,
dressing wounds, in connexion with the surgeons and medical
students, and in general, making themselves useful to the great
numbers of wounded and sick who were placed temporarily
under their charge. Often they provided them with clean beds
and hospital clothing, and suitable food in preparation for their
voyage to Washington, Philadelphia, or New York. These four
ladies were Miss Katherine P. Wormeley, of Newport, R. I.,
Mrs. William P. Griffin, of New York, one of the executive
board of the Woman's Central Association of Relief, Mrs. Eliza
W. Howland, wife of Colonel (afterward General) Joseph How-
land, and her sister, Miss Georgiana Woolsey, both of New York.
Among those who were in charge of the Hospital Transports
for one or more of their trips to the cities we have named, and
by their tenderness and gentleness comforted and cheered the
poor sufferers, and often by their skilful nursing rescued them'
from the jaws of death, were Mrs. George 'T. Strong, the wife of
the Treasurer of the Commission, who made four or five trips;
Miss Harriet Douglas Whetten, who served throughout the
Peninsular Campaign as head of the Women's Department on
the S. R. Spaulding; Mrs. Laura Trotter, (now Mrs. Charles
Parker) of Boston, who occupied a similar position on the Daniei
Webster; Mrs. Bailey, at the head of the Women's Department
on the Elm City; Mrs. Charlotte Bradford, a Massachusetts lady
who made several trips on the Elm City and Knickerbocker;
Miss Amy M. Bradley, whose faithful services are elsewhere
recorded; Mrs. Annie Etheridge, of the Fifth Michigan, Miss
Bradley's faithful and zealous co-worker; Miss Helen L. Gilson,
who here as well as everywhere else proved herself one of the
most eminently useful women in the service; Miss M. Gardiner,
who was on several of the steamers; Mrs. Balustier, of New
York, one of the most faithful and self-sacrificing of the ladies
of the Hospital Transport service; Mrs. Mary Morris Husband,

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WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of Philadelphia, who made four voyages, and whose valuable
services are elsewhere recited; Mrs. Bellows, the wife of the
President of the Commission, who made one voyage; Mrs. Mor-
ritt, and several other ladies.
But let us return to the ladies who remained permanently at
the Commission's headquarters in the Peninsula. Their position
and duties were in many respects more trying and arduous than
those who accompanied the sick and wounded to the hospitals of
the cities. The Daniel Webster, which, as we have said, reached
York River April 30, discharged her stores except what would
be needed for her trip to New York, and having placed them in
a store-house on shore, began to supply the sick in camp and hos-
pital, and to receive such patients on board as it was deemed
expedient to send to New York. These were washed, their
clothing changed, they were fed and put in good clean beds, and
presently sent off to their destination. The staff then commenced
putting the Ocean Queen, which had just been sent to them, into
a similar condition of fitness for receiving the sick and wounded.
She had not, on her arrival, a single bunk or any stores on board;
and before any preparation could be made, the regimental and
brigade surgeons on shore (who never would wait) began to send
their sick and wounded on board; remonstrance was useless, and
the whole party worked with all their might to make what pro-
vision was possible. One of the party went on shore, found a
rebel cow at pasture, shot her, skinned her with his pocket-knife,
and brought off the beef. A barrel of Indian meal, forgotten in
discharging the freight of the vessel, was discovered in the hold
and made into gruel almost by magic, and cups of it were ladled
out to the poor fellows as they tottered in, with their faces flushed
with typhoid fever; by dint of constant hard work, bunks were
got up, stores brought on board, two draught oxen left behind
by Franklin's Division found and slaughtered, and nine hundred
patients having been taken on board, the vessel's anchors were
weighed and she went out to sea. This was very much the ex

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
303
perience of the party during their stay in the Peninsula. Hard,
constant, and hurrying work were the rule, a day of comparative rest
was the exception. Dividing themselves into small parties of two
or three, they boarded and supplied with the stores of the Commis-
sion, the boats which the Medical officers of the army had pressed
into the service filled with wounded and sent without comfort, food
or attendance, on their way to the hospitals in the vicinity of
Fortress Monroe; superintended the shipping of patients on the
steamers which returned from the North; took account of the
stores neoded by these boats and saw that they were sent on
board; fitted up the new boats furnished to the Commission by
the Quartermaster's orders; received, sorted and distributed the
patients brought to the landing on freight-cars, according to
orders; fed, cleansed, and gave medical aid and nursing to all of
them, and selected nurses for those to be sent North; and when
any great emergency came did their utmost to meet it.
The amount of work actually performed was very great; but
it was performed in such a cheerful triumphant spirit, a spirit
that rejoiced so heartily in doing something to aid the nation's
defenders, in sacrificing everything that they might be saved, that
it was robbed of half its irksomeness and gloom, and most of the
zealous workers retained their health and vigor even in the mias-
matic air of the bay and its estuaries. Miss Wormeley, one of
the transport corps, has supplied, partly from her own pen, and
partly from that of Miss Georgiana Woolsey, one of her co-
workers, some vivid pictures of their daily life, which, with her
permission, we here reproduce from her volume on the “United
States Sanitary Commission," published in 1863.
“The last hundred patients were brought on board” (imagine
any of the ships, it does not matter which) “late last night.
Though these night-scenes are part of our daily living, a fresh
eye
would find them dramatic. We are awakened in the dead of
night by a sharp steam-whistle, and soon after feel ourselves
clawed by little tugs on either side of our big ship, bringing off

304
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the sick and wounded from the shore. And, at once,
,
the
process
of taking on hundreds of men-many of them crazed with fever
-begins. There is the bringing of the stretchers up the side-
ladder between the two boats; the stopping at the head of it,
where the names and home addresses of all who can speak are
written down, and their knapsacks and little treasures numbered
and stacked; then the placing of the stretchers on the platform;
the row of anxious faces above and below deck; the lantern held
over the hold; the word given to ‘Lower;' the slow-moving ropes
and pulleys; the arrival at the bottom; the turning down of the
anxious faces; the lifting out of the sick man, and the lifting him
into his bed; and then the sudden change from cold, hunger and
friendlessness, into positive comfort and satisfaction, winding up
with his invariable verdict, if he can speak,—“This is just like
home!'
“We have put 'The Elm City' in order, and she began to fill
up last night. I wish you could hear the men after they are put
into bed. Those who can speak, speak with a will; the others
grunt, or murmur their satisfaction. 'Well, this bed is most too
soft; I don't know as I shall sleep, for thinking of it.' "What
have you got there?' That is bread; wait till I put butter on
it.''Butter, on soft bread!' he slowly ejaculates, as if not sure
that he isn't Aladdin with a genie at work upon him. Instances
of such high unselfishness happen daily, that, though I forget
them daily, I feel myself strengthened in my trust in human
nature, without making any reflections about it. Last night, a
man comfortably put to bed in a middle berth (there were three
tiers, and the middle one incomparably the best) seeing me point
to the upper berth as the place to put the man on an approaching
stretcher, cried out: Stop! put me up there. Guess I can stand
h'isting better'n him. It was agony to both.
“I have a long history to tell you, one of these days, of the
gratefulness of the men. I often wish,—as I give a comfort to
some poor fellow, and see the sense of rest it gives him, and hear

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
305
the favorite speech: 'O, that's good, it's just as if mother was
here,'—that the man or woman who supplied that comfort were
by to see how blessed it is. Believe me, you may all give and
work in the earnest hope that yon alleviate suffering, but none of
you realize what you do; perhaps you can't conceive of it, unless
you could see your gifts in use. * * * *
“We are now on board 'The Knickerbocker,' unpacking and
arranging stores, and getting pantries and closets in order. I am
writing on the floor, interrupted constantly to join in a laugh.
Miss — is sorting socks, and pulling out the funny little balls
of yarn, and big darning-needles stuck in the toes, with which
she is making a fringe across my back. Do spare us the darning-
needles! Reflect upon us, rushing in haste to the linen closet,
and plunging our hands into the bale of stockings! I certainly
will make a collection of sanitary clothing. I solemnly aver that
yesterday I found a pair of drawers made for a case of amputation
at the thigh. And the slippers! Only fit for pontoon bridges!"
This routine of fitting up the ships as they arrived, and of
receiving the men on board as they came from the front, was
accompanied by constant hard work in meeting requisitions from
regiments, with ceaseless battlings for transportation to get sup-
plies to the front for camps and hospitals; and was diversified by
short excursions, which we will call “special relief;" such, for
instance, as the following: -
“At midnight two steamers came alongside “The Elm City,'
each with a hundred sick, bringing word that “The Daniel Web-
ster No. 2 (a sidewheel vessel, not a Commission boat) was
aground at a little distance, with two hundred more, having no
one in charge of them, and nothing to eat. Of course they had
to be attended to. So, amidst the wildest and most beautiful
storm of thunder and lightning, four of us pulled off to her in a
little boat, with tea, bread, brandy, and beef-essence. (No one
can tell how it tries my nerves to go toppling round at night in
little boats, and clambering up ships' sides on little ladders). We
39

306
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
fed them,—the usual process. Poor fellows! they were so crazy!
- And then ‘The Wissahickon' came alongside to transfer them
to • The Elm City. Only a part of them could go in the first
load. Dr. Ware, with his constant thoughtfulness, made me go
in her, to escape returning in the small boat. Just as we pushed
off, the steam gave out, and we drifted end on to the shore. Then
a boat had to put off from "The Elm City,' with a line to tow us
up. All this time the thunder was incessant, the rain falling in
torrents, whilst every second the beautiful crimson lightning
flashed the whole scene open to us. Add to this, that there were
three men alarmingly ill, and thinking to be but a minute in
reaching the other ship) I had not even a drop of brandy for
them. Do you wonder, therefore, that I forgot your letters ?”
Or, again, the following: -
“Sixty men were heard of as lying upon the railroad without
food, and no one to look after them. Some of us got at once into
the stern-wheeler" Wissahick n,' which is the Commission's car-
riage, and, with provisions, basins, towels, soap, blankets, etc.,
went up to the railroad bridge, cooking tea and spreading bread
and butter as we went. A tremendous thunder-storm came up,
in the midst of which the men were found, put on freight-cars,
and pushed to the landing ;fed, washed, and taken on the tug
to "The Elm City.' Dr. Ware, in his hard working on shore,
had found fifteen other sick men without food or shelter,—there
being 'no room' in the tent-hospital. He had studied the neigh-
borhood extensively for shanties; found one, and put his men in
it for the night. In the morning we ran up on the tug, cooking
breakfast for them as we ran, scrambling eggs in a wash-basin
over a spirit-lamp:—and such eggs! nine in ten addled! It must
be understood that wash-basins in the rear of an army are made
of ta.”
And here is one more such story: “We were called to go on
board The Wissahickon,' from thence to The Sea-shore' and run
down in the latter to West Point, to bring off twenty-five men

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
307
us.
said to be lying there sick and destitute. Two doctors went with
After hunting an hour for "The Sea-shore' in vain, and
having got as low as Cumberland, we decided (we being Mrs.
Howland and I, for the doctors were new and docile, and glad to
leave the responsibility upon us women) to push on in the tug,
rather than leave the men another night on the ground, as a
heavy storm of wind and rain had been going on all the day. The
pilot remonstrated, but the captain approved; and, if the firemen
had not suddenly let out the fires, and detained us two hours, we
might have got our men on board, and returned, comfortably,
soon after dark. But the delay lost us the precious daylight. It
was night before the last man was got on board. There were
fifty-six of them, ten very sick ones. The boat had a little shelter-
cabin. As we were laying mattresses on the floor, whilst the
doctors were finding the men, the captain stopped us, refusing to
let us put typhoid fever below the deck, on account of the crew,
he said, and threatening to push off, at once, from the shore.
M13. Howland and I looked at him! I did the terrible, and she
the pathetic,—and he abandoned the contest. The return passage
was rather an anxious one. The river is much obstructed with
sunken shy and trees; the night was dark, and we had to feel
our way, slar kening speed every ten minutes. If we had been
ne it wouldn't have mattered; but to have fifty inen unable to
move upon our vends, was too heavy a responsibility not to make
us anxious. The captain and pilot said the boat was leaking,
and remarked awfu'ly that the water was six fathoms deep about
there;' but we saw weir motive and were not scared. We were
safe alongside "The Spaulding' by midnight; but Mr. Olmstead's
tone of voice, as he said, “You don't know how glad I am to see
you,' showed how much he had been worried. And yet it was
the best thing we could have done, for three, perhaps five, of the
men would have been dead before morning. To-day (Sunday)
they are living and likely to live. Is this Sunday? What days

308
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
22
our Sundays have been! I think of you all at rest, and the sound
of church bells in your ears, with a strange, distant feeling.”
This was the general state of things at the time when the battle
of Fair Oaks was fought, June 1, 1862. All the vessels of the
Commission except “The Spaulding”—and she was hourly ex-
pected—were on the spot, and ready. “The Elm City” happened
to be full of fever cases. A vague rumor of a battle prevailed,
soon made certain by the sound of the cannonading; and she
left at once (4 A. M.) to discharge her sick at Yorktown, and
performed the great feat of getting back to White House, cleaned,
and with her beds made, before sunset of the same day. By that
time the wounded were arriving. The boats of the Commission
filled up calmly. The young men had a system by which they
shipped their men; and there was neither hurry nor confusion,
as the vessels, one by one,—“The Elm City,” “The Knicker-
bocker,” “The Daniel Webster,”—filled up and left the landing.
After them, other boats, detailed by the Government for hospital
service, came up. These boats were not under the control of the
Commission. There was no one specially appointed to take charge
of them; no one to receive the wounded at the station; no one to
see that the boats were supplied with proper stores. A frightful
scene of confusion and misery ensued. The Commission came
forward to do what it could; but it had no power, only the right
of charity. It could not control, scarcely check, the fearful con-
fusion that prevailed, as train after train came in, and the wounded
were brought and thrust upon the various boats. But it did
nobly what it could. Night and day its members worked: not,
it must be remembered, in its own well-organized service, but in
the hard duty of making the best of a bad case. Not the smallest
preparation was found, on at least three of the boats, for the com-
mon food of the men; and, as for sick-food, stimulants, drinks,
there was nothing of the kind on any one of the boats, and not a
pail nor a cup to distribute food, had there been any.
No one, it is believed, can tell the story, as it occurred, of the

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
309
next three days;—no one can tell distinctly what boats they were,
on which they lived and worked through those days and nights.
They remember scenes and sounds, but they remember nothing
as a whole; and, to this day, if they are feverish and weary,
comes back the sight of men in every condition of horror, borne,
shattered and shrieking, by thoughtless hands, who banged the
stretchers against pillars and posts, dumped them anywhere, and
walked over the men without compassion. Imagine an immense
river-steamboat filled on every deck: every berth, every square
inch of room, covered with wounded men,-even the stairs and
gangways and guards filled with those who were less badly
wounded; and then imagine fifty well men, on every kind of
errand, hurried and impatient, rushing to and fro, every touch
bringing agony to the poor fellows, whilst stretcher after stretcher
comes along, hoping to find an empty place; and then imagine
what it was for these people of the Commission to keep calm
themselves, and make sure that each man, on such a boat as that,
was properly refreshed and fed. Sometimes two or even three
such boats were lying side by side, full of suffering and horrors.
This was the condition of things with the subordinates. With
the chiefs it was aggravated by a wild confusion of conflicting
orders from headquarters, and conflicting authority upon the
ground, until the wonder is that any method could have been
obtained. But an earnest purpose can do almost everything, and
out of the struggle came daylight at last. The first gleam of it
was from a hospital tent and kitchen, which, by the goodness and
thoughtfulness of Captain (now Colonel) Sawtelle, Assistant-
Quartermaster, was pitched for the Commission, just at the head
of the wharf, and near the spot where the men arrived in the
This tent (Dr. Ware gave to its preparation the only hour
when he might have rested through that long nightmare) became
the strength and the comfort of the Commission people. As the
men passed it, from cars to boat, they could be refreshed and
stimulated, and from it meals were sent to all the boats at the
cars.

310
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVII. WAR.
landing. During that dreadful battle-week, three thousand men
were fed from that tent. It was not the Vale of Cashmere, but
many dear associations cluster round it.
After the pressure was over, the Commission went back to its
old routine, but upon a new principle. A member of the Com-
mission came down to White House for a day or two, and
afterward wrote a few words about that work. As he saw it
with a fresh eye, his letter will be given here. He says:
“I wish you could have been with me at White House during
my late visit, to see how much is being done by our agents there
to alleviate the sufferings of the sick and wounded soldiers. I
have seen
a good deal of suffering among our volunteers, and
observed the marvellous variety and energy of the beneficence
bestowed by the patriotic and philanthropic in camp, in hospital,
and on transports for the sick; but nothing has ever impressed
me so deeply as this. Perhaps I can better illustrate my meaning
by sketching a few of the daily labors of the agents of the Com-
mission as I saw them. The sick and wounded were usually sent
down from the front by rail, a distance of about twenty miles,
over a rough road, and in the common freight-cars. A train
generally arrived at White House at nine P. M., and another at
two A. M. In order to prepare for the reception of the sick and
wounded, Mr. Olmstead, with Drs. Jenkins and Ware, had
pitched, by the side of the railway, at White House, a large num-
ber of tents, to shelter and feed the convalescent. These tents
were their only shelter while waiting to be shipped. Among
them was one used as a kitchen and work-room, or pantry, by the
ladies in our service, who prepared beef-tea, milk-punch, and
other food and comforts, in anticipation of the arrival of the
trains. By the terminus of the railway the large Commission
steamboat 'Knickerbocker' lay in the Pamunkey, in readiness for
the reception of four hundred and fifty patients, provided with
comfortable beds and a corps of devoted surgeons, dressers, nurses,
and litter-bearers. Just outside of this vessel lay "The Elizabeth,'

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
311
a steam-barge, loaded with the hospital stores of the Commission,
and in charge of a store-keeper, always ready to issue supplies.
Outside of this again lay ‘The Wilson Small,' the headquarters
of our Commission. As soon as a train arrived, the moderately
sick were selected and placed in the tents near the railroad and
fed; those more ill were carried to the upper saloon of 'The
Knickerbocker,' while the seriously ill, or badly wounded, were
placed in the lower saloon, and immediately served by the sur-
geons and dressers. During the three nights that I observed the
working of the system, about seven hundred sick and wounded
were provided with quarters and ministered to in all their wants
with a tender solicitude and skill that excited my deepest admira-
tion. To see Drs. Ware and Jenkins, lantern in hand, passing
through the trains, selecting the sick with reference to their
necessities, and the ladies following to assuage the thirst, or
arouse, by judiciously administered stimulants, the failing strength
of the brave and uncomplaining sufferers, was a spectacle of
the most touching character. If you had experienced the de-
bilitating influence of the Pamunkey climate, you would be
filled with wonder at the mere physical endurance of our corps,
who certainly could not have been sustained in the performance
of duties, involving labor by day and through sleepless nights,
without a strong sense of their usefulness and success.
“At Savage's Station, too, the Commission had a valuable
depot, where comfort and assistance was dispensed to the sick
when changing from the ambulances to the cars. I wish I could
do justice to the subject of my hasty narrative, or in any due
measure convey to your mind the impressions left on mine in ok-
serving, even casually, the operations in the care of the sixk
these two points.
“When we remember what was done by the same noblu band
of laborers after the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, in
ministering to the wants of thousands of wounded, I am sure that

312
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
we shall join with them in gratitude and thankfulness that they
were enabled to be there.”
But the end of it all was at hand; the “change of base,” of
which the Commission had some private intelligence, came to
pass. The sick and wounded were carefully gathered up from
the tents and hospitals, and sent slowly away down the winding
river—“The Wilson Small” lingering as long as possible, till the
telegraph wires had been cut, and the enemy was announced, by
mounted messengers, to be at “Tunstall's;" in fact, till the roar
of the battle came nearer, and we knew that Stoneman with his
cavalry was falling back to Williamsburg, and that the enemy
were about to march into our deserted places.
“All night we sat on the deck of "The Small' slowly moving
away, watching the constantly increasing cloud and the fire-flashes
over the trees towards the White House; watching the fading out
of what had been to us, through these strange weeks, a sort of
home, where all had worked together and been happy; a place
which is sacred to some of us now for its intense living remem-
brances, and for the hallowing of them all by the memory of one
who, through months of death and darkness, lived and worked
in self-abnegation, lived in and for the suffering of others, and
finally gave himself a sacrifice for them.” *
“We are coaling here to-night (Wilson Small,' off Norfolk,
June 30th, 1862). We left White House Saturday night, and
rendezvoused at West Point. Captain Sawtelle sent us off early,
with despatches for Fortress Monroe; this gave us the special fun
of being the first to come leisurely into the panic then raging at
Yorktown. "The Small' was instantly surrounded by terror-
stricken boats; the people of the big ‘St. Mark' leaned, pale, over
their bulwarks, to question us. Nothing could be more delightful
than to be as calm and monosyllabic as we were. ***** We
leave at daybreak for Harrison's Bar, James River, where our
2
* Dr. Robert Ware.

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
313
* * * *
*
gunboats are said to be; we hope to get further up, but Genera.?
Dix warns us that it is not safe. What are we about to learn?
No one here can tell. ***** (Harrison's Bar, July 2d). We
arrived here yesterday to hear the thunder of the battle,* and to
find the army just approaching this landing ; last night it was a
verdant shore, to-day it is a dusty plain. * * * * * The Spaul-
ding' has passed and gone ahead of us; her ironsides can carry her
safely past the rifle-pits which line the shore. No one can tell us
as yet what work there is for us; the wounded have not come
in."
“Hospital Transport Spaulding,' July 3d.—Reached Harrison's
Bar at 11 A. M., July 1st, and were ordered to go up the James
River, as far as Carter's Landing. To do this we must pass the
batteries at City Point. We were told there was no danger if we
should carry a yellow flag; yellow flag we had none, so we trusted
to the red Sanitary Commission, and prepared to run it. "The
Galena' hailed us to keep below, as we passed the battery.
Shortly after, we came up with The Monitor,' and the little
captain, with his East India hat, trumpet in hand, repeated the
advice of 'The Galena,' and added, that if he heard firing, he would
follow us. Our cannon pointed its black muzzle at the shore, and
on we went. As we left The Monitor,' the captain came to me,
with his grim smile, and said, “I'll take those mattresses you spoke
of.' We had joked, as people will, about our danger, and I had
suggested mattresses round the wheel-house, never thinking that
he would try it. But the captain was in earnest; when was he
anything else? So the contrabands brought up the mattresses,
and piled them against the wheel-house, and the pilot stood
against the mast, with a mattress slung in the rigging to protect
him. In an hour we had passed the danger and reached Carter's
Landing, and there was the army, all that was left of it.' * * *
Over all the bank, on the lawns of that lovely spot, under the
* Malvern Hill.
40

314
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
shade of the large trees that fringed the outer park, lay hundreds
of our poor boys, brought from the battle-fields of six days. It
seemed a hopeless task even to feed them. We went first into
the hospital, and gave them refreshment all round. One man,
burnt up with fever, burst into tears when I spoke to him. I
held his hand silently, and at last he sobbed out, 'You are so
kind,--I-am so weak.' We were ordered by the surgeon in
charge to station ourselves on the lawn, and wait the arrival of
the ambulances, so as to give something (we had beef-tea, soup,
brandy, etc., etc.) to the poor fellows as they arrived. * * * * *
Late that night came peremptory orders from the Quartermaster,
for "The Spaulding' to drop down to Harrison's Landing. We
took some of the wounded with us; others went by land or ambu-
lances, and some—it seems incredible—walked the distance.
Others were left behind and taken prisoners; for the enemy
reached Carter's Landing as we left it.”
The work of the Commission upon the hospital transports was
about to close.
But before it was all over, the various vessels had made several
trips in the service of the Commission, and one voyage of “The
Spaulding" must not pass unrecorded.
“We were ordered up to City Point, under a flag of truce, to
receive our wounded men who were prisoners in Richmond. * *
* * * At last the whistle sounded and the train came in sight.
The poor fellows set up a weak cheer at the sight of the old flag,
and those who had the strength hobbled and tumbled off the train
almost before it stopped. We took four hundred and one on
board. Two other vessels which accompanied us took each two
hundred more.
The rebel soldiers had been kind to our men,--
so they said, but the citizens had taken pains to insult them.
One man burst into tears as he was telling me of their misery :
May God defend me from such again.' God took him to Him-
self, poor suffering soul! He died the next morning,-died

THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.
315
because he would not let them take off his arm. 'I wasn't going
to let them have it in Richmond; I said I would take it back to
old Massachusetts. Of course we had a hard voyage with our
poor
fellows in such a condition, but, at least, they were cleaned
and well fed.”

OTHER LABORS OF SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE
HOSPITAL TRANSPORT CORPS.
M
OST of the ladies connected with this Hospital Trans-
port service, distinguished themselves in other depart-
ments of philanthropic labor for the soldiers, often nct
less arduous, and sometimes not cheered by so pleasant
companionship. Miss BRADLEY, as we have seen accomplished
a noble work in connection with the Soldiers' Home at Wash-
ington, and the Rendezvous of Distribution; Miss GILSON and
Mrs. HUSBAND were active in every good word and work; Mrs
CHARLOTTE BRADFORD succeeded Miss Bradley in the charge
of the Soldiers' Home at Washington, where she accomplished a
world of good. Mrs. W. P. GRIFFIN, though compelled by ill-
ness contracted during her services on the Peninsula, returned
with quickened zeal and more fervid patriotism to her work in
connection with the "Woman's Central Association of Relief,"
in New York, of which she was up to the close of the war one
of the most active and untiring managers.
Miss HARRIET
DOUGLAS WHETTEN, who after two or three voyages back and
forth in different vessels, was finally placed in charge of the
Woman's Department on board of the Spaulding, where she
remained until that vessel was given up by the Commission, and
indeed continued on board for two or three voyages after the ves-
sel became a Government hospital transport. Her management
on board the Spaulding was admirable, eliciting the praise of all
who saw it. When the Portsmouth Grove General Hospital in
316

OTHER LABORS IN THE HOSPITAL TRANSPORT CORPS.
317
She was per-
Rhode Island was opened, under the charge of Miss Wormeley,
as Lady Superintendent, that lady invited her to become her.
assistant; she accepted the invitation and remained there a year,
when she was invited to become Lady Superintendent of the
Carver General Hospital, at Washington, D. C., a position of
great responsibility, which she filled with the greatest credit and
success, retaining it to the close of the war.
An intimate friend, who was long associated with her, says of
her, “Miss Whetten's absolute and untiring devotion to the sick
men was beyond all praise. She is a born nurse.
haps less energetic and rapid than others, but no one could quite
come up to her in tender care, and in that close watching and
sympathetic knowledge about a patient which belongs only to a
And when I say that she was less energetic than
some, I am in fact saying something to her honor. Her nature
was calmer and less energetic, but she worked as hard and for a
longer time together than any of us, and this was directly in
opposition to her habits and disposition, and was in fact a triumph
over herself. She did more than any one personally for the men
-the rest of us worked more generally—when a man's sufferings
or necessities were relieved, we thought no more about him—but
she took a warm personal interest in the individual. In the end
this strain upon her feelings wore down her spirits, but it was a
feature of her success, and there must be many a poor fellow,
who if he heard her name “would rise up and call her blessed.”
true nurse.
Three or four of the ladies especially connected with the head-
quarters of the Commission in the Hospital Transport Service,
from their important services elsewhere, are entitled to a fuller
notice. Among these we must include the accomplished historian
of the earlier work of the Commission.

KATHERINE P. WORMELEY.
MONG the many of our countrywomen who have been
active and ardent in the soldier's cause, some may have
devoted themselves to the service for a longer period,
but few with more earnestness and greater ability than
the lady whose name stands at the head of this sketch, and few
have entered into a greater variety of details in the prosecution
of the work.
Katherine Prescott Wormeley was born in England. Her
father though holding the rank of a Rear-Admiral in the British
Navy, was a native of Virginia. Her mother is a native of
Boston, Massachusetts. Miss Wormeley may therefore be said
to be alien to her birth-place, and to be an American in fact as
in feelings. She now resides with her mother at Newport,
Rhode Island.
Miss Wormeley was among the earliest to engage in the work
of procuring supplies and aid for the volunteer soldiery. The
work began in Newport early in July, 1861. The first meeting
of women was held informally at the house of Miss Wormeley's
mother. An organization was obtained, rooms secured (being
lent for the purpose), and about two thousand dollars subscribed.
The Society, which assumed the name of the “Woman's Union
Aid Society” immediately commenced the work with vigor, and
shortly forwarded to the Sanitary Commission at Washington
their first cases, of clothing and supplies. Miss Wormeley
remained at the head of this society until April, 1862. It was
318

KATHERINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY.
319
kept in funds by private gifts, and by the united efforts of all the
churches of Newport, and the United States Naval Academy
which was removed thither from Annapolis, Maryland, in the
spring of 1861.
During the summer of 1861 several ladies (summer residents
of Newport), were in the habit of sending to Miss Wormeley
many poor women, with the request that she would furnish them
with steady employment upon hospital clothing, the ladies paying
for the work. After they left, the poor women whom they had
ihus benefited, felt the loss severely, and the thought occurred to
Miss Wormeley that the outfitting of a great army must furnish
much suitable work for them could it be reached.
After revolving the subject in her own mind, she wrote to
Quartermaster-General Meigs at Washington, making inquiries,
and was by him referred to the Department Quartermaster-
General, Colonel D. H. Vinton, United States Army, office of
army clothing and equipage, New York. Colonel Vinton replied
in the kindest manner, stating the difficulties of the matter, but
expressing his willingness to give Miss Wormeley a contract if
she thought she could surmount them.
Miss Wormeley found her courage equal to the attempt, and
succeeded far more easily than she had expected in carrying out
her plans. She engaged rooms at a low rent, and found plenty
of volunteer assistance on all sides. Ladies labored unweariedly
in cutting and distributing the work to the applicants. Gentle-
men packed the cases, and attended to the shipments. During
the winter of 1861–2 about fifty thousand army shirts were thus
made, not one of which was returned as imperfect, and she was
thus enabled to circulate in about one hundred families, a sum
equal to six thousand dollars, which helped them well through
the winter.
Colonel Vinton, as was the case with other officers very gene-
rally throughout the war, showed great kindness and appreciation
of these efforts of women. And though this contract must have

320
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
given him far more trouble than contracts with regular clothing
establishments, his goodness, which was purely benevolent, never
flagged.
During all this time the work of the Women's Union Aid
Society was also carried on at Miss Wormeley's rooms, and a
large number of cases were packed and forwarded thence, either
to New York or directly to Washington. Miss Wormeley, her-
self, still superintended this matter, and though an Associate
Manager of the New England Women's Branch of the Sanitary
Commission, preferred this direct transmission as a saving both
of time and expense.
The Society was earnest and indefatigable in its exertions,
acting always with great promptness and energy while under the
direction of Miss Wormeley. On one occasion, as an instance, a
telegraphic message from Washington brought at night an urgent
call for a supply of bed-sacks. Early in the morning all the
material in Newport was bought up, as many sewing-machines as
possible obtained, and seventy-five bed-sacks finished and sent off
that day, and as many more the following day.
Miss Wormeley was just closing up her contract when, in April,
1862, the “Hospital Transport Service” was organized, princi-
pally by the efforts of Mr. Frederick Law Olmstead, the General
Secretary of the Sanitary Commission. The sudden transfer of
the scene of active war from the high grounds bordering the
Potomac to a low and swampy region intersected by a network of
creeks and rivers, made necessary appliances for the care of the
sick and wounded, which the Government was not at that time
prepared to furnish. Hence arose the arrangement by which
certain large steamers, chartered, but then unemployed by the
Government, were transferred to the Sanitary Commission to be
fitted up as Hospital Transports for the reception and conveyance
of the sick and wounded. To the superintendence of this work,
care of the sick, and other duties of this special service, a number

KATHERINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY.
321
of agents of the Commission, with volunteers of both sexes, were
appointed, and after protracted and vexatious delays in procuring
the first transports assembled at Alexandria, Virginia, on the 25th
of April, and embarked on the Daniel Webster for York River,
which they reached on the 30th of April.
Miss Wormeley was one of the first to become connected with
this branch of the service, and proceeded at once to her field of
duty. She remained in this employment until August of the
same year, and passed through all the horrors of the Peninsula
campaign. By this, of course, is not understood the battles of the
campaign, nor the army movements, but the reception, washing,
feeding, and ministering to the sick and the wounded-scenes
which are too full of horror for tongue to tell, or pen to describe,
but which must always remain indelibly impressed upon the minds
and hearts of those who were actors in them.
The ladies, it may be observed, who were attached to the
Hospital Transport Corps at the headquarters of the Commission,
were all from the higher walks of society, women of the greatest
culture and refinement, and unaccustomed to toil or exhausting
Yet not one of them shrank from hardship, or revolted
at any labor or exertion which could serve to bring comfort to
the sufferers under their charge.
Active and endowed with extraordinary executive ability,
Miss Wormeley was distinguished for her great usefulness during
this time of fierce trial, when the malaria of the Chickahominy
swamps was prostrating its thousands of brave men, and the
battles of Williamsburg, White House, and Fair Oaks, and the
disastrous retreat to Harrison's Landing were marked by an almost
unexampled carnage.
While the necessity of exertion continued, Miss Wormeley
and her associates bore up bravely, but no sooner was this ended
than nearly all succumbed to fever, or the exhaustion of excessive
and protracted fatigue. Nevertheless, within a few days after
Miss Wormeley's return home, the Surgeon-General, passing
care.
41

322
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
through Newport, came to call upon her and personally solicit
her to take charge of the Woman's Department of the Lowell
General Hospital, then being organized at Portsmouth Grove,
R. I. After a brief hesitation, on account of her health, Miss
Wormeley assented to the proposal, and on the 1st of September,
1862, went to the hospital. She was called, officially, the "Lady
Superintendent," and her duties were general ; they consisted less
of actual nursing, than the organization and superintendence of
her department. Under her charge were the Female Nurses,
the Diet Kitchens, and Special diet, the Linen Department, and
the Laundry, where she had a steam Washing Machine, which
was capable of washing and mangling four thousand pieces a
day.
The hospital had beds for two thousand five hundred patients.
Four friends of Miss Wormeley joined her here, and were her
Assistant Superintendents—Misses G. M. and J. S. Woolsey, Miss
Harriet D. Whetten, of New York, and Miss Sarah C. Wool-
sey, of New Haven. Each of these had charge of seven Wards,
and was responsible to the surgeons for the nursing and diet
of the sick men. To the exceedingly valuable co-operation of
these ladies, Miss Wormeley has, on all occasions, attributed in
a great measure the success which attended and rewarded her
services in this department of labor, as also to the kindness of
the Surgeon in charge, Dr. Lewis A. Edwards, and of his Assist-
ants.
She remained at Portsmouth Grove a little more than a year,
carrying on the arrangements of her department with great ability
and perfect success. On holidays, through the influence of her-
self and her assistants, the inmates received ample donations for
the feasts appropriate to the occasions, and at all times liberal
gifts of books, games, &c., for their instruction and entertain-
ment. But in September, 1863, partly from family reasons, and
partly because her health gave way, she was forced to resign and
return home.

KATHERINE PRESCOTT WORMELEY.
323
From that time her labors in hospital ceased. But, in the
following December, at the suggestion of Mr. and Mrs. George
Ticknor, of Boston, and of other friends, she prepared for the
Boston Sanitary Fair, a charming volume entitled, “The United
States Sanitary Commission; A Sketch of its Purposes and its
Work."
This book, owing to unavoidable hindrances, was not com-
menced till so late that but eleven days were allowed for its
completion. But, with her accustomed energy, having most of her
materials at hand, Miss Wormeley commenced and finished the
book within the specified time, without other assistance than that
volunteered by friends in copying and arranging papers. Grace-
ful in style, direct in detail, plain in statement and logical in
argument, it shows, however, no traces of hasty writing. It met
with great and deserved success, and netted some hundreds of
dollars to the fair.
Miss Wormeley attributes much of the success of her work, in
all departments, to the liberality of her friends. During the war
she received from the community of Newport, alone, over seven-
teen thousand dollars, beside, large donations of brandy, wine,
flannel, etc., for the Commission and hospital use. The Newport
Aid Society, which she assisted in organizing, worked well and
faithfully to the end, and rendered valuable services to the San-
itary Commission. Since the completion of her book, her health
has not permitted her to engage in active service.

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
W
E are not aware of any other instance among
the women
who have devoted themselves to works of philanthropy
and patriotism during tìie recent war, in which four
sisters have together consecrated their services to the
cause of the nation. In social position, culture, refinement, and
all that could make life pleasant, Misses Georgiana and Jane C.
Woolsey, and their married sisters, Mrs. Joseph and Mrs. Robert
Howland, were blessed above most women; and if there were any
who might have deemed themselves excused from entering upon
the drudgery, the almost menial service incident to the Hospital
Transport service, to the position of Assistant Superintendent of a
crowded hospital, of nurse in field hospitals after a great battle, or
of instructors and superintendents of freedmen and freedwomen;
these ladies might have pleaded an apology for some natural
shrinking from the work, from its dissimilarity to all their pre-
vious pursuits. But to the call of duty and patriotism, they had
no such objections to urge.
Mrs. Joseph Howland was the wife of a Colonel in the Union
army, and felt it a privilege to do something for the brave men
with whom her husband's interests were identified, and accom-
panying him to the camp whenever this was permitted, she minis-
tered to the sick or wounded men of his command with a tender-
ness and gentleness which won all hearts. When the invitation
was given to her and her sister to unite with others in the Hospital
Transport service, she rejoiced at the opportunity for wider use-
324

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
325
fulness in the cause she loved; how faithfully, earnestly, and
persistently she toiled is partially revealed in the little work
published by some of her associates, under the title of “Hospital
Transports,” but was fully known only by those who shared in
her labors, and those who were the recipients of her kind atten-
tions. One of these, a private in the Sixteenth New York Regi-
ment (her husband's regiment), and who had been under her care
on one of the Commission's transports at White House, expressed
his gratitude in the following graceful lines •
“From old St. Paul till now
Of honorable women, not a few
Have left their golden ease, in love to do
The saintly work which Christ-like hearts pursue.
“And such an one art thou ? God's fair apostle,
Bearing his love in war's horrific train;
Thy blessed feet follow its ghastly pain,
And misery and death without disdain.
“To one borne from the sullen battle's roar,
Dearer the greeting of thy gentle eyes
When he, a-weary, torn, and bleeding lies,
Than all the glory that the victors prize.
“When peace shall come and homes shall smile again,
A thousand soldier hearts, in northern climes,
Shall tell their little children in their rhymes
Of the sweet saints who blessed the old war times."
On the Chickahominy, June 12th, 1862.
Impaired health, the result of the excessive labors of that battle
summer, prevented Mrs. Howland from further active service in
the field; but whenever her health permitted, she visited and
labored in the hospitals around Washington, and her thoughtful
attention and words of encouragement to the women nurses ap-
pointed by Miss Dix, and receiving a paltry stipend from the
Government, were most gratefully appreciated by those self-
denying, hard-working, and often sorely-tried women-many
of

326
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
them the peers in culture, refinement and intellect of any lady in
the land, but treated with harshness and discourtesy by boy-
surgeons, who lacked the breeding or instincts of the gentleman.
Her genuine modesty and humility have led her, as well as her
sisters, to deprecate any notoriety or public notice of their work,
which they persist in regarding as unworthy of record; but so will
it not be regarded by the soldiers who have been rescued from
inevitable death by their persistent toil, nor by a nation grateful
for the services rendered to its brave defenders.
Mrs. Robert S. Howland was the wife of a clergyman, and an
earnest worker in the hospitals and in the Metropolitan Sanitary
Fair, and her friends believed that her over-exertion in the prep-
aration and attendance upon that fair, contributed to shorten a
life as precious and beautiful as was ever offered upon the altar
of patriotism. Mrs. Howland possessed rare poetic genius, and
some of her effusions, suggested by incidents of army or hospital
life, are worthy of preservation as among the choicest gems of
poetry elicited by the war. “A Rainy Day in Camp,” “A Mes-
sage from the Army,” etc., are poems which many of our readers
will recall with interest and pleasure. A shorter one of equal
merit and popularity, we copy not only for its brevity, but because
it expresses so fully the perfect peace which filled her heart as
completely as it did that of the subject of the poem :
IN THE HOSPITAL.
“S. S—, a Massachusetts Sergeant, worn out with heavy marches, wounds
and camp disease, died in General Hospital, in November, 1863, in ‘per-
fect peace.' Some who witnessed daily his wonderful sweet patience and con-
tent, through great languor and weariness, fancied sometimes they could
already see the brilliant particles of a halo in the air about his head.'
"I lay me down to sleep,
With little thought or care,
Whether my waking find
Me here-or THERE!

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
327
"A bowing, burdened head,
That only asks to rest,
Unquestioning, upon
A loving Breast.
“My good right-hand forgets
Its cunning now-
To march the weary march
I know not how.
"I am not eager, bold,
Nor strong—all that is past:
I am ready NOT TO DO
At last-at last!
“My half-day's work is done,
And this is all my part;
I give a patient God
My patient heart.
“And grasp his banner still,
Though all its blue be dim;
These stripes, no less than stars,
Lead after Him."
Mrs. Howland died in the summer of 1864.
Miss Georgiana M. Woolsey, was one of the most efficient
ladies connected with the Hospital Transport service, where her
constant cheerfulness, her ready wit, her never failing resources
of contrivance and management in any emergency, made the
severe labor seem light, and by keeping up the spirits of the
entire party, prevented the scenes of suffering constantly presented
from rendering them morbid or depressed. She took the position
of assistant superintendent of the Portsmouth Grove General
Hospital, in September, 1862, when her friend, Miss Wormeley,
became superintendent, and remained there till the spring of
1863, was actively engaged in the care of the wounded at Fal-
mouth after the battle of Chancellorsville, was on the field soon
after the battle of Gettysburg, and wrote that charming and
graphic account of the labors of herself and a friend at Gettys-

328
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
burg in the service of the Sanitary Commission which was so
widely circulated, and several times reprinted in English reviews
and journals. We cannot refrain from introducing it as one of
those narratives of actual philanthropic work of which we have
altogether too few.
THREE WEEKS AT GETTYSBURG.
“July, 1863.
“DEAR : What we did at Gettysburg, for the three weeks
we were there, you will want to know. We,' are Mrs.*
and I, who, happening to be on hand at the right moment, gladly
fell in with the proposition to do what we could at the Sanitary
Commission Lodge after the battle. There were, of course, the
agents of the Commission, already on the field, distributing sup-
plies to the hospitals, and working night and day among the
wounded. I cannot pretend to tell you what was done by all the
big wheels of the concern, but only how two of the smallest ones
went round, and what turned up in the going.
“Twenty-four hours we were in making the journey between
Baltimore and Gettysburg, places only four hours apart in ordi-
nary running time; and this will give you some idea of the diffi-
culty there was in bringing up supplies when the fighting was
over, and of the delays in transporting wounded. Coming toward
the town at this crawling rate, we passed some fields where the
fences were down and the ground slightly tossed up: That's
where Kilpatrick's Cavalry-men fought the rebels,' some one
said; and close by that barn a rebel soldier was found day before
yesterday, sitting dead'—no one to help, poor soul,— near the
whole city full.' The railroad bridge broken up by the enemy,
Government had not rebuilt as yet, and we stopped two miles
from the town, to find that, as usual, just where the Government
had left off the Commission came in. There stood their tempo-
rary lodge and kitchen, and here, hobbling out of their tents,
* Her mother, Mrs. Woolsey.

THE MISSES NOULSEY.
329
came the wounded men who had made their way down from the
corps-hospitals, expecting to leave at once in the return-cars.
“This is the way the thing was managed at first: The surgeons
left in care of the wounded three or four miles out from the town,
went up and down among the men in the morning, and said,
* Any of you boys who can make your way to the cars can go
to
Baltimore.' So off start all who think they feel well enough;
anything better than the 'hospitals,' so called, for the first few
days after a battle. Once the men have the surgeons' permission
to go, they are off; and there may be an interval of a day, or two
days, should
any
of them be too weak to reach the train in time,
during which these poor fellows belong to no one,—the hospital
at one end, the railroad at the other, with far more than a chance
of falling through between the two. The Sanitary Commission
knew this would be so of necessity, and, coming in, made a con-
necting link between these two ends.
“For the first few days the worst cases only came down in
ambulances from the hospitals; hundreds of fellows hobbled
along as best they could in heat and dust, for hours, slowly toil-
ing; and many hired farmers' wagons, as hard as the farmers'
fists then selves, and were jolted down to the railroad, at three or
four dollars the man. Think of the disappointment of a soldier,
sick, body and heart, to find, at the end of this miserable journey,
that his effort to get away, into which he had put all his remain-
ing stock of strength, was useless; that 'the cars had gone,' or
“the cars were full;' that while he was coming others had stepped
down before him, and that he must turn all the weary way back
again, or sleep on the road-side till the next train 'to-morrow!
Think what this would have been, and you are ready to appre-
ciate the relief and comfort that was. No men were turned back.
You fed and you sheltered them just when no one else could have
done so; and out of the boxes and barrels of good and nourish-
ing things, which you people at home had supplied, we took all
that was needed. Some of you sent a stove (that is, the money to
49

330
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
get it), some of you the beef-stock, some of you the milk and
fresh bread; and all of you would have been thankful that you
had done so, could you have seen the refreshment and comfort
received through these things.
“As soon as the men hobbled up to the tents, good hot soup
was given all round; and that over, their wounds were dressed,
—for the gentlemen of the Commission are cooks or surgeons, as
occasion demands,—and, finally, with their blankets spread over
the straw, the men stretched themselves out and were happy and
contented till morning, and the next train.
“On the day that the railroad bridge was repaired, we moved
up to the depot, close by the town, and had things in perfect
order; a first-rate camping-ground, in a large field directly by
the track, with unlimited supply of delicious cool water. Here
we set up two stoves, with four large boilers, always kept full of
soup and coffee, watched by four or five black men, who did the
cooking, under our direction, and sang (not under our direction)
at the top of their voices all day,-
‘Oh darkies, hab you seen my Massa ?'
When this cruel war is over.'
Then we had three large hospital tents, holding about thirty-five
each, a large camp-meeting supply tent, where barrels of goods
were stored, and our own smaller tent, fitted up with tables,
where jelly-pots, and bottles of all kinds of good syrups, black-
berry and black currant, stood in rows. Barrels were ranged
round the tent-walls; shirts, drawers, dressing-gowns, socks, and
slippers (I wish we had had more of the latter), rags and ban-
dages, each in its own place on one side; on the other, boxes of
tea, coffee, soft crackers, tamarinds, cherry brandy, etc. Over the
kitchen, and over this small supply-tent, we women rather
reigned, and filled up our wants by requisition on the Commis-
fion's depot. By this time there had arrived a 'delegation of
just the right kind from Canandaigua, New York, with surgeons'

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
331
fressers and attendants, bringing a first-rate supply of necessities
and comforts for the wounded, which they handed over to the
Commission.
“Twice a day the trains left for Baltimore or Harrisburg, and
twice a day we fed all the wounded who arrived for them. Things
were systematized now, and the men came down in long ambu
lance trains to the cars; baggage-cars they were, filled with straw
for the wounded to lie on, and broken open at either end to let in
the air. A Government surgeon was always present to attend to
the careful lifting of the soldiers from ambulance to car. Many
of the men could get along very nicely, holding one foot up,
and
taking great jumps on their crutches. The latter were a great
comfort; we had a nice supply at the Lodge; and they traveled
up
and down from the tents to the cars daily. Only occasionally
did we dare let a pair go on with some very lame soldier, whe
begged for them; we needed them to help the new arrivals each
day, and trusted to the men being supplied at the hospitals at the
journey's end. Pads and crutches are a standing wanit,-pads
particularly. We manufactured them out of the rags we had,
stuffed with sawdust from brandy-boxes; and with half a sheet
and some soft straw, Mrs. made a poor dying boy as easy
as his sufferings would permit. Poor young fellow, he was so
grateful to her for washing and feeding and comforting him. He
was too ill to bear the journey, and went from our tent to the
church hospital, and from the church to his grave, which would
have been coffinless but for the care of .; for the Quarter-
master's Department was overtaxed, and for many days our dead
were simply wrapped in their blankets and put into the earth.
It is a soldierly way, after all, of lying wrapped in the old war-
worn blanket, the little dust returned to dust.
“When the surgeons had the wounded all placed, with as
much comfort as seemed possible under the circumstances, on
board the train, our detail of men would go
from car to car, with
soup
made of beef-stock or fresh meat, full of potatoes, turnips,

332
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
cabbage, and rice, with fresh bread and coffee, and, when stimu-
lants were needed, with ale, milk-punch, or brandy. Water-pails
were in great demand for use in the cars on the journey, and also
empty bottles to take the place of canteens. All our whisky and
brandy bottles were washed and filled up at the spring, and the
boys went off carefully hugging their extemporized canteens,
from which they would wet their wounds, or refresh themselves
till the journey ended. I do not think that a man of the sixteen
thousand who were transported during our stay, went from
Gettysburg without a good meal. Rebels and Unionists together,
they all had it, and were pleased and satisfied. “Have you
friends in the army, madam ? a rebel soldier, lying on the floor
of the car, said to me, as I gave him some milk. “Yes, my bro-
ther is on
's staff.' 'I thought so, ma'am. You can always
tell; when people are good to soldiers they are sure to have
friends in the army. We are rebels, you know, ma'am,' another
said. “Do you treat rebels so?' It was strange to see the good
brotherly feeling come over the soldiers, our own and the rebels,
when side by side they lay in our tents. “Hullo, boys! this is
the pleasantest way to meet, is n't it? We are better friends
when we are as close as this than a little farther off. And then
they would go over the battles together, “We were here,' and
'you were there,' in the friendliest way.
“After each train of cars daily, for the three weeks we were in
Gettysburg, trains of ambulances arrived too late—men who must
spend the day with us until the five P. M. cars went, and men
too late for the five P. M. train, who must spend the night till
the ten A. M. cars went. All the men who came in this way,
under our own immediate and particular attention, were given
the best we had of care and food. The surgeon in charge of our
camp, with his most faithful dresser and attendants, looked after
all their wounds, which were often in a shocking state, particu-
larly among the rebels. Every evening and morning they were
dressed. Often the men would say, "That feels good. I have n't

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
333
had my wound so well dressed since I was hurt.
Something
cool to drink is the first thing asked for after the long, dusty
drive; and pailfuls of tamarinds and water, 'a beautiful drink,
the men used to say, disappeared rapidly among
them.
“ After the men's wounds were attended to, we went round
giving them clean clothes; had basins and soap and towels, and
followed these with socks, slippers, shirts, drawers, and those
coveted dressing-gowns. Such pride as they felt in them! com-
paring colors, and smiling all over as they lay in clean and com-
fortable rows, ready for supper, — on dress parade,' they used to
say. And then the milk, particularly if it were boiled and had +
a little whisky and sugar, and the bread, with butter on it, and
jelly on the butter: how good it all was, and how lucky we felt
ourselves in having the immense satisfaction of distributing these
things, which all of you, hard at work in villages and cities, were
getting ready and sending off, in faith.
Canandaigua sent cologne with its other supplies, which
went right to the noses and hearts of the men. "That is good,
now;'-I'll take some of that;'—'worth a penny a sniff;' that
kinder gives one life;'—and so on, all round the tents, as we
tipped the bottles up on the clean handkerchiefs some one had
sent, and when they were gone, over squares of cotton, on which
the perfume took the place of hem,— just as good, ma'am.' We
varied our dinners with custard and baked rice puddings, scram-
bled eggs, codfish hash, corn-starch, and always as much soft
bread, tea, coffee, or milk as they wanted. Two Massachusetts
boys I especially remember for the satisfaction with which they
ate their pudding. I carried a second plateful up to the cars,
after they had been put in, and fed one of them till he was sure
he had had enough. Young fellows they were, lying side by
side, one with a right and one with a left arm gone.
“The Gettysburg women were kind and faithful to the wounded
and their friends, and the town was full to overflowing of both.
The first day, when Mrs. — and I reached the place, we lite-

334
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
rally begged our bread from door to door; but the kind woman
who at last gave us dinner would take no pay for it. "No,
ma'am, I should n't wish to have that sin on my soul when the
war is over. She, as well as others, had fed the strangers flock-
ing into town daily, sometimes over fifty of them for each meal,
and all for love and nothing for reward; and one night we forced
a reluctant confession from our hostess that she was meaning to
sleep on the floor that we might have a bed, her whole house
being full. Of course we could n't allow this self-sacrifice, and
hunted up some other place to stay in. We did her no good,
however, for we afterwards found that the bed was given up that
night to some other stranger who arrived late and tired: “An old
lady, you know; and I could n't let an old lady sleep on the
floor. Such acts of kindness and self-denial were almost entirely
confined to the women.
“ Few good things can be said of the Gettysburg farmers, and
I only use Scripture language in calling them “evil beasts. One
of this kind came creeping into our camp three weeks after the
battle. He lived five miles only from the town, and had 'never
seen a rebel. He heard we had some of them, and had come
down to see them. "Boys,' we said,-marching him into the tent
which happened to be full of rebels that day, waiting for the
train,-'Boys, here's a man who never saw a rebel in his life, and
wants to look at you ;' and there he stood with his mouth wide
open, and there they lay in rows, laughing at him, stupid old
Dutchman. “And why haven't you seen a rebel ?' Mrs.
said; 'why didn't you take your gun and help to drive them out
of your town?' 'A feller might'er got hit!'-which reply was
quite too much for the rebels; they roared with laughter at hin,
up and down the tent.
“One woman we saw, who was by no means Dutch, and whose
pluck helped to redeem the other sex. She lived in a little house
close up by the field where the hardest fighting was done,-a red-
cheeked, strong, country girl. "Were you frightened when the

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
335
shells began flying?' 'Well, no. You see we was all a-buking
bread around here for the soldiers, and had our dough a-rising:
The neighbors they ran into their cellars, but I couldn't leave my
bread. When the first shell came in at the window and crashed
through the room, an officer came and said, 'You had better get
out of this;' but I told him I could not leave my bread; and I
stood working it till the third shell came through, and then I
went down cellar; but' (triumphantly) 'I left my bread in the
oven.' “And why didn't you go before?' 'Oh, you see, if I had,
the rebels would 'a' come in and daubed the dough all over the place.?
And here she had stood, at the risk of unwelcome plums in her
loaves, while great holes (which we saw) were made by shot and
shell through and through the room in which she was working.
“The streets of Gettysburg were filled with the battle. People
thought and talked of nothing else; even the children showed
their little spites by calling to each other, “ Here, you rebel ;' and
mere scraps of boys amused themselves with percussion-caps and
hammers. Hundreds of old muskets were piled on the pave-
ments, the men who shouldered them a week before, lying under-
ground now, or helping to fill the long trains of ambulances on
their way from the field. The private houses of the town were,
many of them, hospitals; the little red flags hung from the upper
windows. Beside our own men at the Lodge, we all had soldiers
scattered about whom we could help from our supplies; and nice
little puddings and jellies, or an occasional chicken, were a great
treat to men condemned by their wounds to stay in Gettysburg,
and obliged to live on what the empty town could provide,
There was a colonel in a shoe-shop, a captain just up the street,
and a private round the corner whose young sister had possessed
herself of him, overcoming the military rules in some way, and
carrying him off to a little room, all by himself, where I found
her doing her best with very little. She came afterward to our
tent and got for him clean clothes, and good food, and all he
wanted, and was perfectly happy in being his cook, washer

336
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
woman, medical cadet, and nurse. Besides such as these, we
occasionally carried from our supplies something to the churches,
which were filled with sick and wounded, and where men were
dying,—men whose strong patience it was very hard to bear, -
dying with thoughts of the old home far away, saying, as last
words, for the women watching there and waiting with a patience
equal in its strength, “Tell her I love her.'
“Late one afternoon, too late for the cars, a train of ambulances
arrived at our Lodge with over one hundred wounded rebels, to
be cared for through the night. Only one among them seemed
too weak and faint to take anything. He was badly hurt, and
failing. I went to him after his wound was dressed, and found
him lying on his blanket stretched over the straw,—a fair-haired,
blue-eyed young lieutenant, with a face innocent enough for one
of our own New England boys. I could not think of him as a
rebel; he was too near heaven for that. He wanted nothing,-
had not been willing to eat for days, his comrades said; but I
coaxed him to try a little milk gruel, made nicely with lemon
and brandy; and one of the satisfactions of our three weeks is
the remembrance of the empty cup I took away afterward, and
his perfect enjoyment of that supper. "It was so good, the best
thing he had had since he was wounded,'--and he thanked me
so much, and talked about his ‘good supper' for hours. Poor
fellow, he had had no care, and it was a surprise and pleasure to
find himself thought of; so, in a pleased, childlike way, he talked
about it till midnight, the attendant told me, as long as he spoke
of anything; for at midnight the change came, and from that
time he only thought of the old days before he was a soldier,
when he sang hymns in his father's church. He sang them now
again in a clear, sweet voice. “Lord, have mercy upon me;' and
then songs without words—a sort of low intoning. His father
was a Lutheran clergyman in South Carolina, one of the rebels
told us in the morning, when we went into the tent, to find him
sliding out of our care. All day long we watched him, --some-

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
337
times fighting his battles over, often singing his Lutheran chants,
till, in at the tent-door, close to which he lay, looked a rebel sol-
dier, just arrived with other prisoners. He started when he saw
the lieutenant, and quickly kneeling down by him, called, “Henry!
Henry! But Henry was looking at some one a great way off,
and could not hear him. "Do you know this soldier?' we said.
Oh, yes, ma'am; and his brother is wounded and a prisoner, too,
in the cars, now. Two or three men started after him, found
him, and half carried him from the cars to our tent. 'Henry'
did not know him, though; and he threw himself down by his
side on the straw, and for the rest of the day lay in a sort of
apathy, without speaking, except to assure himself that he could
stay with his brother, without the risk of being separated from
his fellow-prisoners. And there the brothers lay, and there we
strangers sat watching and listening to the strong, clear voice,
singing, 'Lord, have mercy upon me.' The Lord had mercy;
and at sunset I put my hand on the lieutenant's heart, to find it
still. All night the brother lay close against the coffin, and in
the morning went away with his comrades, leaving us to bury
Henry, having confidence;' but first thanking us for what we
had done, and giving us all that he had to show his gratitude, -
the palmetto ornament from his brother's cap and a button from
his coat. Dr. W. read the burial service that morning at the
wrote, his name on the little head-board:
'Lieutenant Rauch, Fourteenth Regiment South Carolina Volun-
teers.'
"In the field where we buried him, a number of colored freed-
men, working for Government on the railroad, had their camp,
and every night they took their recreation, after the heavy work
of the day was over, in prayer-meetings. Such an “inferior race,"
you know! We went over one night and listened for an hour,
while they sang, collected under the fly of a tent, a table in the
middle where the leader sat, and benches all round the sides for
the congregation-men only,—all very black and very earnest,
grave, and
43

338
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
They prayed with all their souls, as only black men and slaves
can;
for themselves and for the dear, white people who had come
over to the meeting; and for ‘Massa Lincoln,' for whom they
seemed to have a reverential affection, some of them a sort of
worship, which confused Father Abraham and Massa Abraham
in one general cry for blessings. Whatever else they asked for,
they must have strength, and comfort, and blessing for “ Massa
Lincoln.' Very little care was taken of these poor men. Those
who were ill during our stay were looked after by one of the
officers of the Commission. They were grateful for every little
thing. Mrs. went into the town and hunted
up
several
dozen bright handkerchiefs, hemmed them, and sent them over
to be distributed the next night after meeting. They were put
on the table in the tent, and one by one, the men came up to
get them. Purple, and blue, and yellow the handkerchiefs were,
and the desire of every man's heart fastened itself on a yellow
one; they politely made way for each other, though,—one man
standing back to let another pass up first, although he ran the
risk of seeing the particular pumpkin-color that riveted his eyes
taken from before them. When the distribution is over, each
man tied his head up in his handkerchief, and they sang one
more hymn, keeping time all round, with blue and purple and
yellow nods, and thanking and blessing the white people in their
basket and in their store,' as much as if the cotton handkerchiefs
had all been gold leaf. One man came over to our tent next
day, to say, Missus, was it you who sent me that present? I
never had anything so beautiful in all my life before;' and he
only had a blue one, too.
Among our wounded soldiers one night, came an elderly
man, sick, wounded, and crazy, singing and talking about home.
We did what we could for him, and pleased him greatly with a
present of a red flannel shirt, drawers, and red calico dressing-
gown, all of which he needed, and in which he dressed himself
up, and then wrote a letter to his wife, made it into a little book
66

THE MISSES WOOLSEY.
339
with gingham covers, and gave it to one of the gentlemen to nail
for him. The next morning he was sent on with the company
from the Lodge; and that evening two tired women came into
our camp—his wife and sister, who hurried on from their home
to meet him, arriving just too late. Fortunately we had the
queer little gingham book to identify him by, and when some.
one said, "It is the man, you know, who screamed so,' the poor
wife was certain about him. He had been crazy before the war,
but not for two years, now, she said. He had been fretting for
home since he was hurt; and when the doctor told him there was
no chance of his being sent there, he lost heart, and wrote to his
wife to come and carry him away. It seemed almost hopeless for
two lone women, who had never been out of their own little
town, to succeed in finding a soldier among so many, sent in so
many different directions; but we helped them as we could, and
started them on their journey the next morning, back on their
track, to use their common sense and Yankee privilege of ques-
tioning
“A week after, Mrs. - had a letter full of gratitude, and
saying that the husband was found and secured for home. That
same night we had had in our tents two fathers, with their
wounded sons, and a nice old German mother with her boy. She
had come in from Wisconsin, and brought with her a patchwork
bed-quilt for her son, thinking he might have lost his blanket;
and there he laid all covered up in his quilt, looking so homelike,
and feeling so, too, no doubt, with his good old mother close at
his side. She seemed bright and happy,—had three sons in the
Army,-one had been killed,—this one wounded; yet she was so
pleased with the tents, and the care she saw taken there of the
soldiers, that, while taking her tea from a barrel-head as table,
she said, 'Indeed, if she was a man, she'd be a soldier too, right
off.
“For this temporary sheltering and feeding of all these wounded
men, Government could make no provision. There was nothing

340
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
for them, if too late for the cars, except the open field and hun-
ger,
in preparation for their fatiguing journey. It is expected
when the cars are ready that the men will be promptly sent to
meet them, and Government cannot provide for mistakes and
delays; so that, but for the Sanitary Commission's Lodge and
comfortable supplies, for which the wounded are indebted to the
hard workers at home, men badly hurt must have suffered night
and day, while waiting for the “next train.' We had on an
average sixty of such men each night for three weeks under our
care,---sometimes one hundred, sometimes only thirty; and with
the 'delegation, and the help of other gentlemen volunteers, who
all worked devotedly for the men, the whole thing was a great
success, and you and all of us can't help being thankful that we
had a share, however small, in making it so.
Sixteen thousand
good meals were given; hundreds of men kept through the day,
and twelve hundred sheltered at night, their wounds dressed,
their supper and breakfast secured—rebels and all. You will
not, I am sure, regret that these most wretched men, these 'ene-
mies,' 'sick and in prison,' were helped and cared for through
your supplies, though, certainly, they were not in your minds
when you packed your barrels and boxes. The clothing we
reserved for our own men, except now and then when a shivering
rebel needed it; but in feeding them we could make no distinc-
tions.
“Our three weeks were coming to an end; the work of trans-
porting the wounded was nearly over; twice daily we had filled
and emptied our tents, and twice fed the trains before the long
journey. The men came in slowly at the last,—a lieutenant, all
the way from Oregon, being among the very latest. He came
down from the corps hospitals (now greatly improved), having
lost one foot, poor fellow, dressed in a full suit of the Commission's
cotton clothes, just as bright and as cheerful as the first man, and
all the men that we received had been. We never heard a com-
plaiut. "Would he like a little rice soup?' 'Well, no, thank

TIIE MISSES WOOLSEY.
341
you, ma'am;' hesitating and polite. "You have a long ride
before you, and had better take a little; I'll just bring it and you
can try.' So the good, thick soup came. He took a very little
in the spoon to please me, and afterwards the whole cupful to
please himself. He did not think it was this kind of soup I
meant. He had some in camp, and did not think he cared for
any more; his “cook” was a very small boy, though, who just
put some meat in a little water and stirred it round. “Would
you like a handkerchief?' and I produced our last one, with a
a
hem and cologne too. “Oh, yes; that is what I need; I have
lost mine, and was just borrowing this gentleman's.' So the
lieutenant, the last man, was made comfortable, thanks to all of
you, though he had but one foot to carry him on his long journey
home.
“Four thousand soldiers, too badly hurt to be moved, were
still left in Gettysburg, cared for kindly and well at the large,
new Government hospital, with a Sanitary Commission attach-
ment.
“Our work was over, our tents were struck, and we came away
after a flourish of trumpets from two military bands who filed
down to our door, and gave us a farewell 'Red, white, and blue.??
One who knows Miss Woolsey well says of her, “Her sense,
energy, lightness, and quickness of action; her thorough know-
ledge of the work, her amazing yet simple resources, her shy
humility which made her regard her own work with impatience,
almost with contempt—all this and much else make her memory
a source of strength and tenderness which nothing can take
Elsewhere, the same writer adds, “Strength and sweetness, sound
practical sense, deep humility, merriment, playfulness, a most
ready wit, an educated intelligence—were among her character-
istics. Her work I consider to have been better than any which
I saw in the service. It was thorough, but accomplished rapidly.
She saw a need before others saw it, and she supplied it often by
some ingenious contrivance which answered every purpose, though
away.”

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WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
no one but Georgy would ever have dreamt of it. Her pity for
the sufferings of the men was something pathetic in itself, but it
was never morbid, never unwise, never derived from her own
shock at the sight, always practical and healthy.” Miss Wool-
sey remained in the service through the war, a part of the time in
charge of hospitals, but during Grant's great campaign of the spring,
summer, and autumn of 1864, she was most effectively engaged
at the front, or rather at the great depots for the wounded, at
Belle Plain, Port Royal, Fredericksburg, White House, and City
Point. Miss Jane S. Woolsey, also served in general hospitals
as lady superintendent until the close of the war, and afterward
transferred her efforts to the work among the Freedmen at Rich-
mond, Virginia.
A cousin of these ladies, Miss Sarah C. Woolsey, daughter of
President Woolsey of Yale College, was also engaged during the
greater part of the war in hospital and other philanthropic labors
for the soldiers. She was for ten months assistant superintendent
of the Portsmouth Grove General Hospital, and her winning
manners, her tender and skilful care of the patients, and her
unwearied efforts to do them good, made her a general favorite.

ANNA MARIA ROSS.
NNA MARIA ROSS, the subject of this sketch, was
a native of Philadelphia, in which city the greater part
of her life was spent, and in which, on the 22d of De-
cember, 1863, she passed to her eternal rest.
It was a very beautiful life of which we have now to speak-
a life of earnest activity in every work of benevolence and Chris-
tian kindness. She had gathered about her, in her native city,
scores of devoted friends, who loved her in life, and mourned her
in death with the sentiments of a true bereavement.
Miss Ross was patriotic by inheritance, as well as through per-
sonal loyalty. Her maternal relatives were largely identified
with the war of American Independence. Her mother's uncle,
Jacob Root, held a captain's commission in the Continental army,
and it is related of her great grandmother that she served volun-
tarily as a moulder in an establishment where bullets were manu-
factured to be used in the cause of freedom.
Her mother's name was Mary Root, a native of Chester County,
Pennsylvania. Her father was William Ross, who emigrated
early in life from the county of Derry, Ireland. There may have
been nothing in her early manifestations of character to foreshow
the noble womanhood into which she grew. There remains, at
any rate, a small record of her earliest years. The wonderful
powers which she developed in mature womanhood possess a
greater interest for those who know her chiefly in connection with
343

341
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the labors which gave her so just a claim to the title of “The
Soldier's Friend."
Endowed by nature with great vigor of mind and uncommon
activity and energy, of striking and commanding personal appear-
ance and pleasing address, she had been, before the war, remarkably
successful in the prosecution of those works of charity and benevo-
lence which made her life a blessing to mankind. Well-known
to the public-spirited and humane of her native city, her claims to
attention were fully recognized, and her appeals in behalf of the
needy and suffering were never allowed to pass unheeded.
“I have little hope of success,” she said once to her companion,
in going upon an errand of mercy: "yet we may get one hundred
dollars. The lady we are about to visit is not liberal, though
wealthy. Let us pray that her heart may be opened to us. Many
of my most earnest prayers have been made while hurrying along
the street on such errands as this.” The lady gave her three
hundred dollars.
On one occasion she was at the house of a friend, when a
family was incidentally mentioned as being in great poverty and
affliction. The father had been attacked with what is known as
“black small pox," and was quite destitute of the comforts and
attentions which his situation required, some of the members of
his own family having left the house from fear of the infection.
The quick sympathies of Miss Ross readily responded to this tale
of want and neglect. “While God gives me health and strength,"
she earnestly exclaimed, “no man shall thus suffer!" With no
more delay than was required to place in a basket articles of
necessity and comfort she hastened to the miserable dwelling; nor
did she leave the poor sufferer until he was beyond the reach of
human aid forever. And her thoughtful care ceased not even
here. From her own friends she sought and obtained the means
of giving him a respectable burial.
The lady to whom the writer is indebted for the above incident,
relates that on the day when all that was mortal of Anna Maria

ANNA MARIA ROSS.
345
Ross was consigned to its kindred dust, as she was entering a
street-car, the conductor remarked, “I suppose you have been to
see the last of Miss Ross.” Upon her replying in the affirmative,
he added, while tears flowed down his cheeks, “I did not know
her, but she watched over my wife for four weeks when she had
a terrible sickness. She was almost an entire stranger to her
when she came and offered her assistance."
Her work for the soldier was chiefly performed in connection
with the institution known as the Cooper Shop Hospital, a branch
of the fanious Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon, for Soldiers. Miss
Ross was appointed Lady Principal of this Institution, and devoted
herself to it with an energy that never wearied. Day and night
she was at her post—watching while others slept, dressing with
her own hands the most loathsome wounds; winning the love and
admiration of all with whom she was associated. Her tasks were
arduous, her sympathies were drawn upon to the utmost, her re-
sponsibilities were great.
One who knew her well, and often saw her within the walls
of the “Cooper Shop,” thus gives us some incidents of her work
there. The benevolence expressed in her glowing countenance,
and the words of hearty welcome with which she greeted a hum-
ble coadjutor in her loving labors, will never be forgotten. It
was impossible not to be impressed at once by the tender earnest-
ness with which she engaged in her self-imposed duties, and her
active interest in everything which concerned the well-being of
those committed to her charge. When they were about to leave
her watchful care forever, a sister's thoughtfulness was exhibited
in her preparations for their comfort and convenience. The
wardrobe of the departing soldier was carefully inspected, and
everything needful was supplied. It was her custom also to fur-
nish to each one who left, a sum of money, “that he might have
something of his own” to meet any unexpected necessity by the
way. And if the donation-box at the entrance of the hospital
chanced to be empty, her own purse made good the deficiency.
44

316
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The writer well remembers the anxious countenance with which
she was met one morning by Miss Ross, when about taking her
place for the day's duty. “I am so sorry!" was her exclamation.
“When C—- left for Virginia last night I forgot, in the confu-
sion, to give him money; and I am afraid that he has nothing
of his own, for he had not received his pay. I thought of it
after I was in bed, and it disturbed my sleep.”
The tenderness of Miss Ross's nature was never more touch-
ingly exhibited than in the case of Lieutenant B-, of Saratoga,
New York. He was brought to the hospital by his father for a
few days' rest before proceeding to his home. Mortally wou
ounded,
he failed so rapi lly that he could not be removed. During two
days and nights of agonizing suffering Miss Ross scarcely left his
side, and while she bathed his burning brow and moistened his
parched lips she mingled with these tender offices words of Chris-
tian hope and consolation. “Call me Anna,” she said, "and tell
me all which your heart prompts you to say.” And as life ebbed
away he poured into her sympathizing ear the confidences which
his mother, alas! could not receive. With tearful eyes and sor-
rowing heart this new-found friend watched by him to the last-
then closed the heavy eyes, and smoothed the raven locks, and
sent the quiet form, lovely even in death, to her who waited its
arrival in bitter anguish.
To those who best knew the subject of this sketch, it seems a
hopeless task to enumerate the instances of unselfish devotion to
the good of others with which that noble life was filled. It was
the same tale again and again repeated. Alike the pain, the
anxiety, the care; alike the support, the encouragement, the con-
solation. No marvel was it that the sinking soldier, far from
home and friends, mistook the gentle ministry for that which
marks earth's strongest tie, and at her approach whispered
“mother.”
It would be impossible to enumerate a tithe of the special
instances of her kindly ministrations, but there are some that so

ANNA MARIA ROSS.
3.17
vividly illustrate prominent points in her character that we can-
not refrain from the record. One of these marked traits was her
perseverance in the accomplishment of any plan for the good of
her charges, and may well be mentioned here.
For a long time an Eastern soldier, named D—, was an
inmate of her hospital, and as, though improving, his recovery
was slow, and it seemed unlikely that he would soon be fit for
service in the ranks, she got him the appointment of hospital
steward, and he remained where he could still have care.
After the battle of Gettysburg he relapsed, and from over-work
and over-wrought feeling, sank into almost hopeless depression.
The death of a beloved child, and an intense passionate longing
to revisit his home and family, aided this deep grief, and gave it
a force and power that threatened to deprive him of life or reason.
It was at this crisis that with her accustomed energy Miss Ross
directed all her efforts toward restoring him to his family. After
the preliminary steps had been taken she applied to the captain
of a Boston steamer, but he refused to receive a sick passenger on
account of the want of suitable accommodations. The case was
urgent. He must go or die. "There is no room,” repeate l the
captain.
“Give him a place upon the floor," was the rejoinder, "iind I
will furnish everything needful.” “But a sick man cannot have
proper attendance under such circumstances,” persisted the cap-
tain. "I will go with him if necessary,” she replied, “and will
take the entire charge of his comfort.” “Miss Ross, I am sorry
to refuse you, but I cannot comply with your request. This an-
swer must be final."
What was to be done? The unsuccessful pleader covei ed her
face with her hands for a few moments; then raising her head
said, slowly and sadly, "Captain I ve had
letters
from the friends of New England soldiers, thanking we with
overflowing hearts for restoring to them the dearly loved husband,
son, or brother while yet alive. From D.'s wife I shall receiva
many
>

348
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
you do,
no such message. This is his only chance of life. He cannot
bear the journey by land. He must go by water or die. He
will die here—far from friends and home.” This appeal could
not be resisted. “I will take him, Miss Ross,” was the answer;
" but it must be only upon the condition that you will promise
not to ask such a favor of me again whatever the case may be.”
“Never!" was the quick reply, “never will I bind myself by such
a promise while an Eastern soldier needs a friend or a passage to
nis home! You are the first man to whom I should apply.”
“Then let him come without a promise. You have conquered;
I will do for him all that can be done."
Could such friendship fail to win the hearts of those to whom
this inestimable woman gave the cheerful service of her life's best
days? “Do you want to see Florence Nightingale ?” said one,
who had not yet left the nursing care which brought him back
to life and hope, to a companion whom he met. “If
just come to our hospital and see Miss Ross.”
This was the only reward she craved—a word of thoughtful
gratitude from those she sought to serve; and in this was lost all
remembrance of days of toil and nights of weariness. So from
week to week and from month to month the self-consecration
grew more complete—the self-forgetfulness more perfect. But
the life spent in the service of others was drawing near its end.
The busy hands were soon to be folded, the heavy eyelids forever
closed, the weary feet were hastening to their rest.
The spring of 1863 found Miss Ross still occupied in the
weary round of her labors at the hospital. She had mnat
remarkable strength and vigor of constitution, and that, with
every other gift and talent she possessed was unsparingly used
for the promotion of any good cause to which she was devoted.
During this spring, in addition to all her other and engrossing
labors, she was very busy in promoting the interests of a large
fair for the purpose of aiding in the establishment of a perma-
nent Home for discharged soldiers, who were incapacitated for

ANNA MARIA ROSS.
349
active labor. She canvassed the city of Philadelphia, and also
traveled in different parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey in
order to obtain assistance in this important undertaking. “Is it
not wrong," a friend once asked, “ that you should do so much,
while so many are doing nothing ?” “Oh, there are hundreds
who would gladly work as I do,” was her reply," but they have
not my powers of endurance.”
The fair in which she was so actively interested took place in
June, and a large sum was added to the fund previously obtained
for the benefit of the “Soldiers' Home.” The work now pro-
gressed rapidly, and the personal aid and influence of Miss Ross
were exerted to forward it in every possible way. Yet while
deeply absorbed in the promotion of this object, which was very
near to her heart, she found time to brighten, with characteristic
tenderness and devotion, the last hours of the Rev. Dr. Clay, the
aged and revered minister of the ancient church, in which the
marriage of her parents had taken place so many years before.
With his own family she watched beside his bed, and with them
received his parting blessing.
The waning year found the noble undertaking, the object of so
many prayers and the goal of such ardent desire, near a prosper-
ous completion. A suitable building had been obtained, and
many busy days were occupied in the delightful task of furnish-
ing it. At the close of a day spent in this manner, the friend
who had been Miss Ross's companion proposed that the remain-
ing purchases should be deferred to another time, urging, in
addition to her extreme fatigue, that many of the stores were
closed. “Come to South Street with me," she replied. “They
keep open there until twelve o'clock, and we may find exactly
what we want." The long walk was taken, and when the desired
ai ticles were secured she yielded to her friend's entreaties, and at
a late hour sought her home. As she pursued her solitary way
came there no foreshadowing of what was to be? no whisper of
the hastening summons ? no token of the quick release? Wea-

350
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
rily were the steps ascended, which echoed for the last time the
familiar tread. Slowly the door closed through which she should
pass on angelic mission nevermore. Was there no warning?
“I am tired," she said, “and so cold that I feel as if I never
could be warm again.” It was an unusual complaint for her
to whom fatigue had seemed almost unknown before. But it
was very natural that exhaustion should follow a day of such
excessive labor, and she would soon be refreshed. So thought
those who loved her, unconscious of the threatening danger.
The heavy chill retained its grasp, the resistless torpor of paraly-
sis crept slowly on, and then complete insensibility. In this
utter helplessness, which baffled every effort of human skill,
night wore away, and morning dawned. There was no change
and days passed before the veil was lifted.
She could not believe that her work was all done on earth and
death near, “but,” she said, "God has willed it—His will be
done." There was no apparent mental struggle. Well she knew
that she had done her uttermost, and that God was capable of
placing in the field other laborers, and perhaps better ones than
she; and she uttered no meaningless words when, without a mur-
mur, she resigned herself to His will.
A few words of fond farewell, she calmly spoke to the weeping
friends about her. Then with fainter and fainter breathing, life
fled so gently that they knew not when the shadowy vale was
passed. So, silently and peacefully the Death-angel had visited
her, and upon her features lay the calm loveliness of perfect rest.
On the 22d of December, 1863, the friends, and sharers of her
labors were assembled at the dedication of the Soldiers' Home.
It was the crowning work of her life, and it was completed; and
thus, at the same hour, this earthly crown was laid upon her dy-
ing brow, and the freed soul put on the crown of a glorious im-
mortality.
Her funeral was attended by a sorrowing multitude, all of
whom had known, and many, yea, most of whom, had been blest

ANNA MARIA ROSS.
351
by her labors. For even they are blest to whom it has happened
to know and appreciate a character like hers.
They made her a tomb, in the beautiful Monument Cemetery,
beneath the shadow of a stately cedar. Nature itself, in the deso-
lation of advancing winter, seemed to join in the lament that
such loveliness and worth was lost to earth.
But with returning summer, the branches of her overshadow-
ing cedar are melodious with the song of birds, while roses and
many flowering plants scatter fragrance to every passing breeze
as their petals falling hide the dark soil beneath. The hands of
friends have planted these—an odorous tribute to the memory of
her they loved and mourn, and have raised beside, in the endur-
ing marble, a more lasting testimony of her worth.
The tomb is of pure white marble, surmounted by a tablet of the
same, which in alto relievo, represents a female figure ministering
to a soldier, who lies upon a couch. Beneath, is this inscription:
ERECTED BY HER FRIENDS
IN MEMORY OF
ANNA M. ROSS,
DIED, DECEMBER 22, 1863.
Her piety was fruitful of good works. The friendless child, the
fugitive slave, and the victim of intemperance were ever objecte
of her tenderest solicitude.
When civil war disclosed its horrors, she dedicated her life to
the sick and wounded soldiers of her country, and died a martyr
to Humanity and Patriotism.
So closes the brief and imperfect record of a beautiful life;
but the light of its lovely example yet remains.

MRS. G. T. M. DAVIS.
MONG the large number of the ladies of New York
city who distinguished themselves for their devotion
to the welfare of the soldiers of our army, of whom so
many in all forms of suffering were brought there
during the war, it seems almost invidious to select any individ-
ual. But it is perhaps less so in the case of the subject of this
sketch, than of many others, since from the very beginning of
the war till long after its close, she quietly sacrificed the ease and
luxury of her life to devote herself untiringly, and almost with-
out respite, to the duties thus voluntarily assumed and faithfully
performed.
Mrs. Davis is the wife of Colonel G. T. M. Davis, who served
with great distinction in the Mexican war, but who, having
entered into commercial pursuits, is not at present connected with
the army. Her maiden name was Pomeroy, and she is a native
of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Her brother, Robert Pomeroy,
Esq., of that town, a wealthy manufacturer, was noted for his
liberal benefactions during the war, and with all his family
omitted no occasion of showing his devotion to his country and
to its wounded and suffering defenders. His daughter, near the
close of the war, became the wife of one of the most distinguished
young officers in the service, General Bartlett.
General Bartlett, at twenty-two, and fresh from the classic
precincts of Harvard, entered the service as a private. He rose
rapidly through the genius and force of his commanding charac-
352

MRS. G. T. M. DAVIS.
353
ter. He lost a leg, we believe at the siege of Yorktown, left the
service, until partially recovered, when he again re-entered it as
the Colonel of the Forty-ninth Massachusetts Regiment, which
was raised in Berkshire County. For months he rode at the
head of his regiment with his crutch attached to the back of his
saddle. It was after his return from the South-west, (where the
gallant Forty-ninth distinguished itself at Port Hudson, Plain's
Stone, and other hard-won fields), with a maimed arm, that he
was rewarded with the hand of one of Berkshire's fairest daugh-
ters, a member of this patriotic family. Several other young
men, members of the same family, have also greatly distinguished
themselves in the service of their country
At the very outset of the war, or as soon as the sick among
the volunteers who were pouring into New York, demanded
relief, Mrs. Davis began to devote time and care to them. Daily
leaving her elegant home, she sought out and ministered to her
country's suffering defenders, at the various temporary barracks
erected for their accommodation.
When the Park Barracks Ladies' Association was formed, she
became its Secretary, and so continued for a long period, most
faithful and energetic in her ministrations. This association
included in its work the Hospital on Bedloe's Island, and Mrs.
Davis was one of the first who commenced making regular visits
there.
Most of the men brought to Bedloe's Island in the earlier part
of the war, were sick with the various diseases consequent upon
he unaccustomed climate and the unwonted exposure they had
encountered. They needed a very careful and regular diet, one
which the army rations, though perhaps suitable and sufficient for
men in health, were unable to supply. It was but natural that
these ladies, full of the warm sympathy which prompted them to
the unusual tasks they had undertaken, should shrink from seeing
a half-convalescent fever patient fed with hard-bread and salt
pork, or the greasy soups of which pork was the basis. They
45

354
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CAVIL WAR.
brought delicacies, often prepared by their own hands or in their
own kitchens, and were undoubtedly injudicious, sometimes, in
their administration. Out of this arose the newspaper contro-
versy between the public and the surgeons in charge, at Bedloe's
Island, which is probably yet fresh in many minds. It was char-
arterized by a good deal of acrimony.
Mrs. Davis avers that neither she nor her friends gave food to
the patients without the consent of the physicians. The affair
terminated, as is well-known, by the removal of the surgeon in
charge.
The Ladies Park Barracks' Association was, as a body, opposed
to extending its benefactions beyond New York and its immedi-
ate vicinity. Mrs. Davis was of a different opinion, and was,
beside, not altogether pleased with the management of the asso-
ciation. She therefore, after a time, relinquished her official con-
nection with it, though never for one instant relaxing her efforts
for the same general object.
For a long series of months Mrs. Davis repaired almost daily
to the large General Hospital at David's Island, where thousands
of sick and wounded men were sometimes congregated. Here
she and her chief associates, Mrs. Chapman, and Miss Morris,
established the most amicable relations with the surgeon in charge,
Dr. McDougall, and were welcomed by him, as valued coadjutors.
On the opening of the Soldiers Rest, in Howard Street, an
association of ladies was formed to aid in administering to the
comfort of the poor fellows who tarried there during their transit
through the city, or were received in the well-conducted hospital
connected with the institution. Of this association Mrs. Davis
was the Secretary, during the whole term of its existence.
This association, as well as the institution itself, was admirably
conducted, and perhaps performed as much real and beneficial
work as any other in the vicinity of New York. It was con-
tinued in existence till several months after the close of the war.
Besides her visits at David's Island and Howard Street, which

MRS. G. T. M. DAVIS.
355
were most assiduous, Mrs. Davis as often as possible visited the
Central Park, or Mount St. Vincent Hospital, the Ladies' Home
Hospital, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Fifty-first
Street, and the New England Rooms in Broadway. At all of
these she was welcomed, and her efforts most gratefully received.
Seldom indeed did a day pass, during the long four years of the
war,
and for months after the suspension of hostilities, that her
kind face was not seen in one or more of the hospitals.
Her social position, as well as her genuine dignity of manners
enforced the respect of all the officials, and won their regard.
Her untiring devotion and kindness earned her the almost wor-
shipping affection of the thousands of sufferers to whom she
ministered.
Letters still reach her, at intervals, from the men who owe,
perhaps life, certainly relief and comfort to her cherishing care.
Ignorant men, they may be, little accustomed to the amenities of
life, capable only of composing the strangely-worded, ill-spelled
letters they send, but the gratitude they express is so abundant
and so genuine, that one overlooks the uncouthness of manner,
and the unattractive appearance of the epistles. And seldom
does she travel but at the most unexpected points scarred and
maimed veterans present themselves before her, and with the
deepest respect beg the privilege of once more offering their
thanks. She may have forgotten the faces, that in the great pro-
cession of suffering flitted briefly before her, but they will never
forget the face that bent above their couch of pain.
The native county of Mrs. Davis, Berkshire, Massachusetts,
was famous for the abundance and excellence of the supplies it
continually sent forward to the sick and suffering soldiers. The
appeals of Mrs. Davis to the women of Berkshire, were numerous
and always effective. Her letters were exceedingly graphic and
spirited, and were published frequently in the county papers,
reaching not only the villages in the teeming valleys but the
scattered farm-houses among the hills; and they continually gave

356
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
impulse and direction to the noble charities of those women, who,
in their quiet homes, had already sent forth their dearest and
best to the service of the country.
Mrs. Davis for herself disclaims all merit, but has no word of
praise too much for these. They made the real sacrifices, these
women who from their small means gave so much, who rose
before the sun, alike in the cold of winter and the heat of sum-
mer, who performed the most menial tasks and the hardest toil
that ey might save for the soldiers, that they might gain time
to work for the soldiers. It was they who gave much, not the
lady who laid aside only the soft pleasures of a luxurious life,
whose well-trained servants left no task unfinished during her
absence, whose bath, and dress, and dinner were always ready on
her return from the tour of visiting, who gave only what was not
missed from her abundance, and made no sacrifice but that of ber
personal ease. So speaks Mrs. Davis, in noble self-depreciation
of herself and her class. There is a variety of gifts. God and
her country will decide whose work was most worthy.

MISS MARY J. SAFFORD.
M
ISS MARY J. SAFFORD, is a native of New Eng-
land, having been born in Vermont, though her pa-
rents, very worthy people, early emigrated to the West,
and settled in Northern Illinois, in which State she has
since resided, making her home most of the time in Crete, Joliet,
Shawneetown and Cairo ; the last named place is her present
home.
Miss Safford, early in life, evinced an unusual thirst for know-
ledge, and gave evidence of an intellect of a superior order ; and,
with an energy and zeal seldom known, she devoted every mo-
ment to the attainment of an education, the cultivation of her
mind—and the gaining of such information as the means at hand
afforded. Her love of the beautiful and good was at once
marked, and every opportunity made use of to satisfy her desires
in these directions.
Her good deeds date from the days of her childhood, and the
remarkably high sense of duty of which she is possessed, makes
her continually in search of some object of charity upon which
to exert her beneficence and kindly care.
The commencement of the late rebellion, found her a resident
of Cairo, Illinois, and immediately upon the arrival of the Union
soldiers there, she set about organizing and establishing tempo-
rary hospitals throughout the different regiments, in order that
the sick might have immediate and proper care and attention un-
til better and more permanent arrangements could be effected.
357

358
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Every day found her a visitor and a laborer among these sick
soldiers, scores of whom now bear fresh in their memories the
petite form, and gentle and loving face of that good angel of
mercy to whom they are indebted, through her kind and watch-
ful care and nursing, for the lives they are now enjoying.
The morning after the battle of Belmont, found her,--the only
lady—early on the field, fearlessly penetrating far into the ene-
inies' lines, with her handkerchief tied upon a little stick, and
waving above her head as a flag of truce,-ministering to the
wounded, which our army had been compelled to leave behind,
to some extent—and many a Union soldier owes his life to her al-
most superhuman efforts on that occasion. She continued her
labors with the wounded after their removal to the hospitals, sup-
plying every want in her power, and giving words of comfort
and cheer to every heart.
As soon as the news of the terrible battle of Pittsburg Land-
ing reached her, she gathered together a supply of lints and
bandages, and provided herself with such stimulants and other
supplies as might be required, not forgetting a good share of deli-
cacies, and hastened to the scene of suffering and carnage, where
she toiled incessantly day and night in her pilgrimage of love and
mission of mercy for more than three weeks, and then only re-
turned with a steamboat-load of the wounded on their way to
the general hospitals. She continued her labors among the hos-
pitals at Cairo and the neighborhood, constantly visiting from
one to the other. Any day she could be seen on her errands of
mercy passing along the streets with her little basket loaded with
delicacies, or reading-matter, or accompanied with an attendant
carrying ample supplies to those who had made known to her
their desire for some favorite dish or relish. On Christmas day,
1861, there were some twenty-five regiments stationed at Cairo,
and on that day she visited all the camps, and presented to every
sick soldier some little useful present or token. The number of
sad hearts that she made glad that day no one will ever know

MISS MARY J. SAFFORD.
359
save He who knoweth all things. Her zeal and energy in this
good work was so far in excess of her physical abilities, that she
labored beyond her endurance, and her health finally became so
much impaired that she was induced to leave the work and make
a tour in Europe, where at this writing she still is, though an in-
valid. Her good deeds even followed her in her travels in a
foreign land, and no sooner had the German States become in-
volved in war, than she was called upon and consulted as to the
establishment of hospital regulations and appointments there-
and even urged to take charge of and establish and direct the
whole system.
Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, of the Northwestern Sanitary Com-
mission, who has known as much of Miss Safford's work, as any
one connected with the service, writes thus of her:
“Miss Safford commenced her labors immediately, when Cairo
was occupied. I think she was the very first woman who went
into the camps and hospitals, in the country; I know she was in
the West. There was no system, no organization, nothing to do
with. She systematized everything in Cairo, furnished necessa-
ries with her own means, or rather with her brother's, who is
wealthy; went daily to the work, and though surgeons and
authorities everywhere were opposed to her efforts, she disarmed
all opposition by her sweetness and grace and beauty. She did
just what she pleased. At Pittsburg Landing, where she was
found in advance of other women, she was hailed by dying sol-
diers, who did not know her name, but had seen her at Cairo, as
the 'Cairo Angel.' She came up with boat-load after boat-load
of sick and wounded soldiers who were taken to hospitals at
Cairo, Paducah, St. Louis, etc., cooking all the while for them,
dressing wounds, singing to them, and praying with them. She
did not undress on the way up from Pittsburg Landing, but
worked incessantly.
“She was very frail, as petite as a girl of twelve summers, and
utterly unaccustomed to hardships. Sleeping in hospital tents,

360
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
working on pestilential boats, giving up everything to this life,
carrying the sorrows of the country, and the burdens of the sol-
dier on her heart like personal griefs, with none of the aids in the
work that came afterwards, she broke down at the end of the
first eighteen months, and will never again be well. Her brother
sent her immediately to Paris, where she underwent the severest
treatment for the cure of the injury to the spine, occasioned by
her life in the army and hospitals. The physicians subsequently
prescribed travel, and she has been since that time in Europe.
She is highly educated, speaks French and German as well as
English, and some Italian. She is the most indomitable little
creature living, heroic, uncomplaining, self-forgetful, and will yet
die in harness. When the war broke out in Italy, she was in
Florence, and at Madame Mario's invitation, immediately went
to work to assist the Italian ladies in preparing for the sick and
wounded of their soldiers. In Norway, she was devising ways
and means to assist poor girls to emigrate to America, where they
had relatives—and so everywhere. She must be counted among
those who have given up health, and ultimately life for the
country.”
We add also the following extracts from a letter from Cairo,
published in one of the Chicago papers, early in the war.
AN ANGEL AT CAIRO.
“I cannot close this letter from Cairo without a passing word of one whose
name is mentioned by thousands of our soldiers with gratitude and blessing.
Miss Mary Safford is a resident of this town, whose life since the beginning of
the
war, has been devoted to the amelioration of the soldier's lot, and his com-
fort in the hospitals. She is a young lady, petite in figure, unpretending, but
highly cultivated, by no means officious, and so wholly unconscious of her ex-
cellencies, and the great work she is achieving, that I fear this public allusion
to her may pain her modest nature. Her sweet, young face, full of benevo-
lence, pleasant voice, and winning manner instate her in every one's heart
directly; and the more one sees her, the more he admires her great soul and
her noble nature. Not a day elapses but she is found in the hospitals, unless
indeed she is absent on an errand of mercy up the Tennessee, or to the hospitals
in Kentucky.

MISS MARY J. SAFFORD.
361
“Every sick and wounded soldier in Cairo knows and loves her; and as she
enters the ward, every pale face brightens at her approach. As she passes
along, she inquires of each one how he has passed the night, if he is well sup-
plied with reading matter, and if there is anything she can do for hini. All
cell her their story frankly—the man old enough to be her father, and the boy
of fifteen, who should be out of the army, and home with his mother. One
thinks he would like a baked apple if the doctor will allow it-another a rice
pudding, such as she can make-a third a tumbler of buttermilk—a fourth
wishes nothing, is discouraged, thinks he shall die, and breaks down utterly,
in tears, and him she soothes and encourages, till he resolves for her sake, to
keep up a good heart, and hold on to life a little longer-a fifth wants her to
write to his wife—a sixth is afraid to die, and with him, and for him, her de-
vout spirit wrestles, till light shines through the dark valley-a seventh desires
her to sit by him and read, and so on. Every request is attended to, be it ever
so trivial, and when she goes again, if the doctor has sanctioned the gratifica-
tion of the sick man's wish, the buttermilk, baked apple, rice pudding, etc., are
carried along. Doctors, nurses, medical directors, and army officers, are all
her true friends; and so judicious and trustworthy is she, that the Chioago .
Sanitary Commission have given her carte blanche to draw on their stores at
Cairo for anything she may need in her errands of mercy. She is performing
a noble work, and that too in the quietest and most unconscious manner. Said
a sick soldier from the back woods, in the splendid hospital at Mound City,
who was transferred thither from one of the miserable regimental hospitals ar
Cairo, 'I'm taken care of here a heap better than I was at Cairo; but I'd rather
be there than here, for the sake of seeing that little gal that used to come in
every day to see us. I tell you what, she's an angel, if there is any. To this
latter assertion we say amen! most heartily.”
Miss Safford is the sister of A. B. Safford, Esq., a well-known
and highly respected banker at Cairo, Illinois, and of Hon. A.
P. K. Safford of Nevada.
46

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
T the outbreak of hostilities Mrs. Parrish was resid-
ing at Media, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Her
husband, Dr. Joseph Parrish, had charge of an insti-
tution established there for idiots, or those of feeble
mental capacity, and it cannot be doubted that Mrs. Parrish, with
her kindly and benevolent instincts, and desire for usefulness,
found there an ample sphere for her efforts, and a welcome occu-
pation.
But as in the case of thousands of others, all over the country,
Mrs. Parrish found the current of her life and its occupations
marvellously changed, by the war. There was a new call for the
efforts of woman, such an one as in our country, or in the world,
had never been made. English women had set the example of
sacrifice and work for their countrymen in arms, but their efforts
were on a limited scale, and bore but a very small proportion to
the great uprising of loyal women in our country, and their
varied, grand persistent labors during the late civil war in America.
Not a class, or grade, or rank, of our countrywomen, but was
represented in this work. The humble dweller in the fishing
cabins on the bleak and desolate coast, the woman of the prairie,
and of the cities, the wife and daughter of the mechanic, and the
farmer, of the merchant, and the professional man, the lady from
the mansion of wealth, proud perhaps of her old name, of her
culture and refinement—all met and labored together, bound by
one common bond of patriotism and of sympathy.
362

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
363
Mrs. Parrish was one of the first to lay her talents and her
efforts upon the altar of her country. In 1861, and almost as
soon as the need of woman's self-sacrificing labors became appa-
rent, she volunteered her services in behalf of the sick and
wounded soldiers of the Union.
She visited Washington while the army was yet at the capital
and in its vicinity. Her husband, Dr. Parrish, had become con-
nected with the newly organized Sanitary Commission, and in
company with him and other gentlemen similarly connected, she
examined the different forts, barracks, camps, and hospitals then
occupied by our troops, for the purpose of ascertaining their con-
dition, and selecting a suitable sphere for the work in which she
intended to engage.
On the first day of 1862, she commenced her hospital labors,
selecting for that purpose the Georgetown Seminary Hospital.
She wrote letters for the patients, read to them, and gave to them
all the aid and comfort in her power; and she was thus enabled
to learn their real wants, and to seek the means of supplying
them. Their needs were many, and awakened all her sympathies
and incited her to ever-renewed effort. After one day's trial of
these new scenes, she wrote thus in her journal, January 2, 1862:
‘My heart is so oppressed with the sight of suffering I see around
me that I am almost unfitted for usefulness; such sights are new
I feel the need of some resource, where I may apply for
delicacies and comforts, which are positively necessary. The
Sanitary Commission is rapidly becoming the sinew of strength
for the sick and wounded, and I will go to their store-rooms.
Application was made to the Commission, and readily and promptly
responded to. She was authorized to draw from their stores, and
was promised aid and protection from the organization.
Both camps and hospitals were rapidly filling up; the weather
was inclement and the roads bad, but at the solicitation of other
earnest workers, she made occasional visits to camps in the coun-
try, and distributed clothing, books and comforts of various
to me.
>

364
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
kinds. The "Berdan Sharp-shooters” were encamped a few miles
from the city, and needed immediate assistance. She was re-
quested by the Secretary of the Commission to “visit the
camps,
make observations, inquire into their needs, and report to the
Commission." She reached the camp through almost impas-
sable roads, and was received by the officers with respect and
consideration, upon announcing the object of her visit. She
made calls upon the men in hospitals and quarters, returned to
Washington, reported “two hundred sick, tents and streets need-
ing police, small pox breaking out, men discouraged, and officers
unable to procure the necessary aid, that she had distributed a
few jellies to the sick, checker boards to a few of the tents, and
made a requisition for supplies to meet the pressing want.”
This little effort was the means of affording speedy relief to
inany suffering men. She did not however feel at liberty to
abandon her hospital service, as we learn from a note in her
diary, that “this outside work does not seem to be my mission.
I have become thoroughly interested in my daily rounds at the
city hospitals, particularly at Georgetown Seminary, where my
heart and energies are fully enlisted.” She passed several weeks
in this service, going from bed to bed with her little stores, which
she dispensed under instructions from the surgeon, without being
known by name to the many recipients of her attention and care.
The stores of the Commission were not then as ample as they
afterward became, when its noble aims had become more fully
understood, and its grand mission of benevolence more widely
known, and the sick and wounded were in need of many things
not obtainable from either this source or the Government sup-
plies. Mrs. Parrish determined, therefore, to return to her
northern home and endeavor to interest the people of her neigh-
borhood in the cause she had so much at heart. She found the
people ready to respond liberally to her appeals, and soon returned
to Washington well satisfied with the success of her efforts.
She felt now that her time, and if need be her life, must be

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
365
consecrated to this work, and as her diary expresses it, she "could
not remain at home," and that if she could be of service in her
new sphere of labor she “must return.”
After her brief absence, she re-entered the Georgetown Semi-
nary Hospital. Death had removed some of her former patients,
others had returned to duty, but others whom she left there
welcomed her with enthusiasm as the "orange lady," a title she
had unconsciously earned from the fact that she had been in the
habit of distributing oranges freely to such of the patients as
were allowed to have them.
The experience of life often shows us the importance of little
acts which so frequently have an entirely disproportionate result.
Mrs. Parrish found this true in her hospital ministrations. Little
gifts and attentions often opened the way to the closed hearts of
those to whom she ministered, and enabled her to reach the
innermost concealed thought-life of her patients.
A soldier sat in his chair, wrapped in his blanket, forlorn, hag-
gard from disease, sullen, selfish in expression, and shrinking
from her notice as she passed him. To her morning salutation,
he would return only a cold recognition. He seemed to be brist-
ling with defenses against encroachment. And thus it remained
till one day a small gift penetrated to the very citadel of his
fortress.
“Shall I read to you ?” she commenced, kindly, to which he
replied, surlily, “Don't want reading." "Shall I write to any
of your friends ?" she continued. “I hav'n't any friends,” he
said in the sourest tone. Repulsed, but not baffled, she presently,
and in the same kind manner, took an orange from her basket,
and gently asked him if he would accept it. There was a per-
ceptible brightening of his face, but he only answered, in the
same surly tone, as he heid forth his hand, “Don't care if I do.”
And yet, in a little time, his sullen spirit yielded—he spread
all his troubles before the friend he had so long repulsed, and
opening his heart, showed that what had seemed so selfish and

366
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
moody in him, arose from a deep sense of loneliness and discour-
agement, which disappeared the moment the orange had unlocked
his heart, and admitted her to his confidence and affection.
About six weeks she spent thus in alternate visits to the vari-
ous hospitals in the vicinity of Washington, though her labors
were principally confined to the Georgetown Hospital, where they
commenced, and where her last visit was made.
As her home duties called her at that time, she returned
thither, briefly. Soon after she reached home, she received a let-
ter from one of her former patients to whom she had given her
address, requesting her to call at the Broad and Cherry Street
Hospital, in Philadelphia. She did so, and on entering the build-
ing found herself surrounded by familiar faces. Her old Wash-
ington friends had just arrived, and welcomed her with cordial
greetings. The stronger ones approached her with outstretched
hands—some, too feeble to rise, covered their faces and wept with
joy—she was the only person known to them in all the great
lonely city. The surgeon-in-charge, observing this scene, urged
her to visit the hospital often, where her presence was sure to do
the men great good.
During her stay at home she assisted in urganizing a Ladies'
Aid Society at Chester. She was appointed Directress for the
township where she resided, and as the hospital was about to be
located near Chester, she, with others, directed her attention to
preparing and furnishing it. Sewing-circles were formed, and as
a result of the efforts made, by the time the soldiers arrived, a
plentiful supply of nice clothing, delicacies, etc., etc., was ready
for them.
Mrs. Parrish united with other women of the vicinity in orga-
nizing a corps of volunteer nurses, who continued to perform their
duties with regularity and faithfulness until some time after, a
new order dispensed with their services.
Her labors during the summer and autumn of 1862 visibly

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
367
affected her health, and were the cause of a severe illness which
continued for several weeks.
Her health being at length restored, she went to Washington,
spent a few days in visiting the hospitals there, and then, with a
pass sent her by Major-General Sumner, from Falmouth, she
joined Mrs. Dr. Harris and started, January 17th, 1863, for
Falıncuth via Acquia Creek.
The army was in motion and much confusion existed, but they
found comfortable quarters at the Lacy House, where they were
under the protection of the General and his staff.
Here Mrs. Parrish found much to do, there being a great deal
of sickness among the troops. The weather was stormy, and the
movement of the army was impeded; and though she underwent
much privation for want of suitable food, and on account of the
inclement season she continued faithful at her post and accom-
plished much good.
In December of the same year she accompanied her husband,
with the Medical Director of the Department of Virginia and
North Carolina, on a tour of inspection to the hospitals of York-
town, Fortress Monroe, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newbern,
North Carolina. While at Old Point she learned that there was
about to be an exchange of prisoners, and desiring to render some
services in this direction obtained permission from General
Butler to proceed, in company with a friend, Miss L. C. on the
flag-of-truce boat to City Point, witness the exchange, and render
such aid as was possible to our men on their return passage.
There were five hundred Confederate prisoners on board, who,
as her journal records, “sang our National airs, and seemed to be
a jolly and happy healthy company."
Our men were in a very different condition—"sick and weary,"
and needing the Sanitary Commission supplies, which had been
brought for them, yet shouting with feeble voices their gladness at
being once more under the old flag, and in freedom. Mrs. Par-

368
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
rish fed and comforted these poor men as best she could, till the
steamer anchored off Old Point again.
It had been intended to continue the exchange much further,
but a dispute arising concerning the treatment of negro prisoners,
the operations of the cartel were arrested, and the exchange sus-
pended. She found, therefore, no further need of her services in
this direction, and so returned home.
For many months to come, as one of the managers of the
women's branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, she
found ample employment in preparation for the great Philadel-
phia Fair, in which arduous service she continued until its close,
in July, 1864. The exhausting labors of these months, and the
heat of the weather during the continuance of the Fair, made it
necessary for her to have a respite for the remainder of the
summer.
It was in the early winter of this year that she accompanied
her husband on a tour of inspection to the hospitals of Annapo-
lis, and became so interested in the condition of the returned
prisoners, who needed so much done for them in the
way
of
per-
sonal care, that she gladly consented, at the solicitation of the
medical officers and agent of the Commission, to serve there for
a season.
Of the usefulness of her work among the prisoners, testimony
is abundant. What she saw, and what she did, is most touch-
ingly set forth in the following letters from her pen, extracted
from the Bulletin of the United States Sanitary Commission!
ANNAPOLIS, December 1, 1864.
“The steamer Constitution arrived this morning with seven hundred and six
men, one hundred and twenty-five of whom were sent immediately to hospitals,
being too ill to enjoy more than the sight of their promised land.' Many
indeed, were in a dying condition. Some had died a short time before the
arrival of the boat. Those who were able, proceeded to the high ground above
the landing, and after being divided into battalions, each was conducted in turn
to the Government store-house, under charge of Captain Davis, who furnished
each man with a new suit of clothes recorded his name, regiment and company.

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
369
(
64
They then passed out to another building near by, where warm water, soap,
towels, brushes and combs awaited them.
“After their ablutions they returned to the open space in front of the build-
ing, to look around and enjoy the realities of their new life. Here they were
furnished with paper, envelopes, sharpened pencils, hymn-books and tracts from
the Sanitary Commission, and sat down to communicate the glad news of their
freedom to friends at home. In about two hours most of the men who were
able, had sealed their letters and deposited them in a large mail bag which was
furnished, and they were soon sent on their way to hundreds of anxious kindred
an friends.
Captain Davis very kindly invited me to accompany him to another build-
ing, to witness the administration of the food. Several cauldrons containing
nice coffee, piles of new white bread, and stands covered with meat, met the
eye. Three dealers were in attendance. The first gave to each soldier a loaf
of bread, the second a slice of boiled meat, the third, dipping the new tin-cup
from the hand of each, into the coffee cauldron, dealt out hot coffee; and how
it was all received I am unable to describe. The feeble ones reached out their
emaciated hands to receive gladly, that which they were scarcely able to carry,
and with brightening faces and grateful expressions went on their way. The
stouter ones of the party, however, must have their jokes, and such expressions
as the following passed freely among them: “No stockade about this bread,
This is no confederate dodge,' etc. One fellow, whose skin was nearly black
from exposure, said, “That's more bread than I've seen for two months. An-
other, 'That settles a man's plate.' A bright-eyed boy of eighteen, whose young
spirit had not been completely crushed out in rebeldom, could not refrain from
a hurrah, and cried out, 'Hurrah for Uncle Sam, hurrah! No Confederacy
about this bread.' One poor feeble fellow, almost too faint to hold his loaded
plate, muttered out, “Why, this looks as if we were going to live, there's no
grains of corn for a man to swallow whole in this loaf.' Thus the words of
cheer and hope came from almost every tongue, as they received their rations
and walked away, each with his 'thank you, thank you;' and sat down upon the
ground, which forcibly reminded me of the Scripture account where the multi-
tude sat down in companies, and did eat and were filled.'
Ambulances came afterwards to take those who were unable to walk to
Camp Parole, which is two miles distant. One poor man, who was making his
way behind all the rest to reach the ambulance, thought it would leave him,
and with a most anxious and pitiful expression, cried out, 'Oh, wait for me!
I think I shall never forget his look of distress. When he reached the wagon
he was too feeble to step in, but Captain Davis, and Rev. J. A. Whitaker, Sani-
tary Commission agent, assisted him till he was placed by the side of his com-
panions, who were not in much better condition than himself. When he was
47

370
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Beated, he was so thankful, that he wept like a child, and those who stood by to
aid him could do no less. Soldiers-brave soldiers, officers and all, were
moved to tears. That must be a sad discipline which not only wastes the manly
form till the sign of humanity is nearly obliterated, but breaks the manly spirit
till it is as tender as a child's.”
“ December 6, 1864.
"The St. John's College Hospital, is under the management of Dr. Palmer,
surgeon-in-charge, and his executive officer, Dr. Tremaine. These gentlemen
are worthy of praise for the systematic arrangement of its cleanly apartments,
and for the very kind attention they bestow on their seven hundred patients. I
visited the hospital a day or two ago, and, from what I saw there, can assure
the relatives at home, that the sufferers are well provided for. If they could
only be seen, how comfortable they look in their neat white-spread beds, much
pain would be spared them. One of the surgeons informed me that all the ap-
pliances are bestowed either by the Government or the Sanitary Commission.
“As I passed through the different wards, I noticed that each one was well
supplied with rocking-chairs, and alluding to the great comfort they must be to
the invalids, the surgeon replied: 'Yes, this is one of the rich gifts made to us
by the Sanitary Commission.' An invalid took up the words and remarked:
I think it's likely that all about me is from the Sanitary, for I see my flannel
shirt, this wrapper, and pretty much all I've got on, has the stamp of the
United States Sanitary Commission on it.'
“The diet kitchen is under the care of Miss Rich, who, with her assistants,
was busy preparing delicacies of various kinds, for two hundred patients who
were not able to go to the convalescent's table. The whole atmosphere was
filled with the odor of savory viands. On the stove I counted mutton-chops,
beef-steaks, oysters, chicken, milk, tea, and other very palatable articles cook-
ing. A man stood by a table, buttering nicely toasted bread; before him were
eight to ten rows of the staff of life, rising up like pillars of strength to support
the inner man. The chief cook in this department, informed me that he but-
tered twelve hundred slices of bread, or toast daily, for the diet patients, and
prepared eighty-six different dishes at each meal. While in conversation with
this good-natured person, the butcher brought in a supply of meat, amounting,
he informed me, to one hundred pounds per day for the so-called diet kitchen,
though this did not sound much like it. Before we left this attractively clean
place the oysterman was met emptying his cans. Upon inquiring how many
oysters he had, he replied, 'Six gallons is my every day deposit here;' and oh!
they were so inexpressibly fine-looking, I could not resist robbing some poor
fellow of one large bivalve to ascertain their quality. Next we were shown the
store-room, where there was a good supply of Sanitary stores, pads, pillows,
shurts, drawers, arm-slings, stock of crutches, fans, and other comforts, which,

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
371
the doctor said, had been deposited by the United States Sanitary Commission
Agent. These were useful articles that were not furnished by the Govern
ment.
“The executive officer having given us permission to find our way among
the patients, we passed several hours most profitably and interestingly, con-
versing with those who had none to cheer them for many months, and writing
letters for those who were too feeble to use the pen. When the day closed our
labors we felt like the disciple of old, who said, “Master, it is good to be here,
and wished that we might set up our tabernacle and glorify the Lord by doing
good to the sick, the lame, and those who had been in prison.”
“December 8, 1864.
"No human tongue or pen can ever describe the horrible suffering we have
witnessed this day.
"I was early at the landing, eight and a-half o'clock in the morning, before
the boat threw out her ropes for security. The first one brought two hundred
bad cases, which the Naval surgeon told me should properly go to the hospital
near by, were it not that others were coming, every one of whom was in the
most wretched condition imaginable. They were, therefore, sent in ambulances
to Camp Parole hospital, distant two miles, after being washed and fed at the
barracks.
“In a short time another boat-load drew near, and oh! such a scene of suffer-
ing humanity I desire never to behold again. The whole deck was a bed of
straw for our exhausted, starved, emaciated, dying fellow-creatures. Of the
five hundred and fifty that left Savannah, the surgeon informed me not
over two hundred would survive; fifty had died on the passage; three died
while the boat was coming to the land. I saw five men dying as they were
carried on stretchers from the boat to the Naval Hospital. The stretcher-
bearers were ordered by Surgeon D. Vanderkieft to pause a moment that the
names of the dying men might be obtained. To the credit of the officers and
their assistants it should be known that everything was done in the most sys-
tematic and careful manner. Each stretcher had four attendants, who stood in
line and came up promptly, one after the other, to receive the sufferers as they
were carried off the boat. There was no confusion, no noise; all acted with
perfect military order. Ah! it was a solemn funeral service to many a brave
soldier, that was thus being performed by kind hearts and hands.
“Some had become insane; their wild gaze, and clenched teeth convinced
the observer that reason had fled; others were idiotic; a few lying in spasms;
perhaps the realization of the hope long cherished, yet oft deferred, or the
welcome sound of the music, sent forth by the military band, was more than
their exhausted nature could bear. When blankets were thrown over them, no
one would have supposed that a human form lay beneath, save for the small

372
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
66
sores.
prominences which the bony head and feet indicated. Oh! God of justice, what
retribution awaits the perpetrators of such slow and awful murder.
The hair of some was matted together, like beasts of the stall which lie
down in their own filth. Vermin are over them in abundance. Nearly every
man was darkened by scurvy, or black with rough scales, and with scorbutic
One in particular was reduced to the merest skeleton; his face, neck,
and feet covered with thick, green mould. A number who had Government
clothes given them on the boat were too feeble to put them on, and were car-
ried ashore partially dressed, hugging their clothing with a death-grasp that
they could not be persuaded to yield. It was not unfrequent to hear a man
feebly call, as he was laid on a stretcher, “Don't take my clothes ;” “Oh, save
my new shoes;""Don't let my socks go back to Andersonville.” In their wild
death-struggle, with bony arms and hands extended, they would hold up their
new socks, that could not be put on because of their swollen limbs, saying
"Save 'em till I get home.' In a little while, however, the souls of many were
released from their worn-out frames, and borne to that higher home where all
things are registered for a great day of account.
“Let our friends at home have open purses and willing hands to keep up the
supplies for the great demand that must necessarily be made upon them. Much
more must yet be done.
“Thousands now languish in Southern prisons, that may yet be brought thus
far toward home. Let every Aid Society be more diligent, that the stores of
the Sanitary Commission may not fail in this great work.”
Her services at Annapolis were cut short, and prematurely
discontinued; for returning to her home for a short stay, to make
preparations for a longer sojourn at Annapolis, she was again
attacked by illness, which rendered it impossible for her to go
thither again.
On her recovery, knowing that an immense amount of igno-
rance existed among officers and men concerning the operations of
the Sanitary Commission, she compiled a somewhat elaborate, yet
carefully condensed statement of its plans and workings, together
with a great amount of useful information in relation to the facil-
ities embraced in its system of special relief, giving a list of all
Homes and Lodges, and telling how to secure back pay for sol-
diers, on furlough or discharged, bounties, pensions, etc., etc.
Bound up with this, is a choice collection of hymns, adapted to

MRS. LYDIA G. PARRISH.
373
the soldier's use, the whole forming a neat little volume of con-
venient size for the pocket.
The manuscript was submitted to the committee, accepted, and
one hundred thousand copies ordered to be printed for gratuitous
distribution in all the hospitals and camps. The 6 Soldiers'
Friend," as it was called, was soon distributed in the different
departments and posts of the army, and was even found in the
Southern hospitals and prisons, while it was the pocket compan-
ion of men in the trenches, as well as of those in quarters and
hospital. Many thousands were instructed by this little direc-
tory, where to find the lodges, homes and pension offices of the
Commission, and were guarded against imposture and loss. So
urgent was the demand for it, and so useful was it, that the com-
mittee ordered a second edition.
Perhaps no work published by the Sanitary Commission has
been of more real and practical use than this little volume, or has
had so large a circulation. It was the last public work performed
for the Commission by Mrs. Parrish. At the close of the war
her labors did not end; but transferring her efforts to the ame-
lioration of the condition of the freedmen, she still found herself
actively engaged in a work growing directly out of the war.
$

MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER.
M
RS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER, who, during the
early part of the war was widely known as the State
Sanitary Agent of Iowa, and afterward as the originator
of the Diet Kitchens, which being attached to hospitals
proved of the greatest benefit as an adjunct of the medical treat-
ment, was at the outbreak of the rebellion, residing in quiet
seclusion at Keokuk. With the menace of armed treason to the
safety of her country's institutions, she felt all her patriotic in-
stincts and sentiments arousing to activity. She laid aside her
favorite intellectual pursuits, and prepared herself to do what a
woman might in the emergency which called into existence a
great army, and taxed the Government far beyond its immediate
ability in the matter of Hospital Supplies and the proper provi-
sion for, and care of the sick and wounded.
Early in 1861 rumors of the sufferings of the volunteer sol-
diery, called so suddenly to the field, and from healthy northern
climates to encounter the unwholesome and miasmatic exhalations
of more southern regions, as well as the pain of badly-dressed
wounds, began to thrill and grieve the hearts which had
willingly though sadly sent them forth in their country's defense.
Mrs. Wittenmeyer saw at once that a field of usefulness opened
before her. Her first movement was to write letters to every
town in her State urging patriotic women in every locality to
organize themselves into Aid Societies, and commence systemati-
cally the work of supplying the imperative needs of the suffering
374

MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER.
375
wldiers. These appeals, and the intense sympathy and patriotism
that inspired the hearts of the women of the North, proved quite
sufficient. In Iowa the earlier Reports were addressed to her,
and societies throughout the State forwarded their goods to the
Keokuk Aid Society with which she was connected. As the
agent of this society Mrs. Wittenmeyer went to the field and
distributed these supplies.
Thus her work had its inception—and being still the chosen
agent of distribution, she gave herself no rest. In fact, from the
summer of 1861 until the close of the war, she was continually
and actively employed in some department of labor for the
soldiers, and did not allow herself so much as one week for rest.
From June, 1861, to April 1st, 1862, she had received and dis-
tributed goods to the value of $6,000. From that to July 1st,
$12,564, and from that until September 25th, 1862, $2,000, mak-
ing a total of $20,564 received before her appointment of that
date by the Legislature as State Agent. From that time until
her resignation of the office, January 13th, 1864, she received
$115,876,93. Thus, in about two years and a half, she received
and distributed more than $136,000 worth of goods and sanitary
stores contributed for the benefit of suffering soldiers,
But while laboring so constantly in the army, Mrs. Witten-
meyer did not overlook the needs of the destitute at home. In
October, 1863, a number of benevolent individuals, of whom she
was one, called a Convention of Aid Societies, which had for its
foremost object to take some steps toward providing for the wants
of the orphans of soldiers. That Convention led to the estab-
lishment of the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, an Institution
of which the State is now justly proud, and which is bestowing
upon hundreds of children bountiful care and protection.
While laboring in the hospitals at Chattanooga in the winter
of 1863–4, Mrs. Wittenmeyer matured her long-cherished plan
for supplying food for the lowest class of hospital patients, and
this led to the establishment of Diet Kitchens. Believing her

376
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
idea could be better carried out by the Christian Commission,
than under any other auspices, she soon after resigned her position
as State agent, and became connected with that organization.
From a little work entitled “Christ in the Army," composed
of sketches by different individuals, and published by the Chris-
tian Commission, and from the Fourth Report of the Maryland
Branch of the Christian Commission, we make the following
extracts, relative to Mrs. Wittenmeyer's labors in this sphere of
effort:
“The sick and wounded suffer greatly from the imperfect cooking
of the soldier nurses. To remedy this evil, a number of ladies have
offered themselves as delegates of the Christian Commission, and
arrangements have been made with the medical authorities to estab-
lish Diet Kitchens, where suitable food may be prepared by ladies'
hands for our sick soldiers,—the Government furnishing the staple
articles, and the Christian Commission providing the ladies and
the delicacies and cordials. One of these at Knoxville is thus
described by a correspondent of The Lutheran :-
“There have been several largé hospitals in this city, but
recently they have been all consolidated into one. In connection
with this hospital is a “Special Diet Kitchen. Many of our
readers will doubtless wonder what these “Special Diet Kitchens'
are. They have been originated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, of
Keokuk, formerly State Sanitary Agent of Iowa. In her arduous
labors in the Army of the Cumberland, she met with a large
number of patients who suffered for want of suitably prepared,
delicate and nutritious food. None of the benevolent institutions
in connection with the army have been able to reach this class of
persons. She says, in her report to the General Assembly of the
State: “This matter has given me serious and anxious thought
for the past year, but I have recently submitted to the Christian
Commission a plan by which I believe this class of patients may
be reached and relieved. The plan proposed, is the establish-
ment of “Special Diet Kitchens,” in connection with that Com-

MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER.
377
mission, to be superintended by earnest, prudent Christian women,
who will secure the distribution of proper food to this class of
patients—taking such delicate articles of food as our good people
supply to the very bed-sides of the poor languishing soldiers, and
administering, with words of encouragement and sympathy, to
their pressing wants; such persons to co-operate with the surgeons
in all their efforts for the sick.' This plan of operations has been
sanctioned and adopted by the United States Christian Commis-
sion. There is one in successful operation at Nashville, under
the direction, I believe, of a daughter of the Honorable J. K
Moorehead, of Pittsburg. The one here is under the direction of
Mrs. R. E. Conrad, of Keokuk, Iowa, and her two sisters. They
are doing a great and good work now in Knoxville. From three
to five hundred patients are thus daily supplied with delicate food,
who would otherwise have scarcely anything to eat. The success
of their labors has demonstrated beyond a doubt the practicabil-
ity of the plan of Mrs. Wittenmeyer. The good resulting from
their arduous labor proves that much can be done by these special
efforts to rescue those who are laid upon languishing beds of sick-
ness and pain, and have passed almost beyond the reach of ordi-
nary means. The great need we have in connection with these
Diet Kitchens,' is the want of canned fruits, jellies, preserves,
etc. If our good people, who have already done so much, will
provide these necessary means, they will be distributed to the
most needy, and in such a way as to accomplish the most good.”
The War Department is so well satisfied with the value of these
Diet Kitchens, in saving the lives of thousands of invalids, that
it has issued the following special Order :-
SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 362.
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
WASHINGTON, D. C., October 24, 1864.
[EXTRACT.]
56. Permission to visit the United States General Hospitals,
within the lines of the several Military Departments of the United States, for
* * *
48

378
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the purpose of superintending the preparation of food in the Special Diet
Kitchens of the same, is hereby granted Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, Special
Agent United States Christian Commission, and such ladies as she may deem
proper to employ, by request of the United States surgeons. The Quarter-
master's Department will furnish the necessary transportation.
BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
OFFICIAL:
DIET KITCHENS.
Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer suggested and introduced the use
of the Diet Kitchen into the hospitals. The Kitchen was used
extensively among the Branch Offices of the West. The design
of the Kitchen was, to have prepared for the men who were
under treatment, such articles of food and delicacies as are grate-
ful to the sick, and at the same time may be allowed with safety,
The ladies who were engaged in this department performed their
labors under the direction of the surgeons, who appointed their
stations and approved their preparations. The process was very
much like that of the house in which the surgeon directs, and
the family provides, the nourishing food that is needed for the
patient.
Mrs. Wittenmeyer had the Diet Kitchens under her supervis-
ion. She was the agent of the Commission for the purpose.
She operated under regulations which were approved by the
Commission and by the War Department. These regulations
were printed and circulated among the managers of the Kitchens.
So effective were the orders under which the department was
conducted, that not the least difficulty or misunderstanding oc-
curred, notwithstanding the responsible relations of the co-ope-
rators, part being officials of the army and part under the direction
of a voluntary service. Each of the managers was furnished with
a copy of the rules, which, with the endorsement of the branch
office with which the service was connected, constituted the com-
mission of he manager.

MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER.
379
The Special Diet Kitchens, were first adopted in the Depart-
ment of the Cumberland, and in that of the Mississippi, and
with results so unexpectedly beneficial, that Mrs. Wittenmeyer
was earnestly solicited to extend the work to the Army of the
Potomac. This she did in the winter of 1864, and it continued
until the close of the war with great success.
Much of this success was undoubtedly owing to the class of
ladies engaged in the work. Many of them were from the high-
est circles of society, educated, refined and accomplished, and
each was required to maintain the life and character of an earnest
Christian. They thus commanded the respect of officers and
and proved a powerful instrument of good. As we have
seen, the Christian Commission has borne ample testimony to the
value of the efforts of Mrs. Wittenmeyer, and her associates in
this department of hospital service.
Mrs. Wittenmeyer continued actively engaged in the service
of the Christian Commission, in the organizing of Diet Kitchens,
and similar labors, until the close of the war, and the disbanding
of that organization, when she returned to her home in Keokuk,
to resume the quiet life she had abandoned, and to gain needed
repose, after her four years' effort in behalf of our suffering de-
fenders.
men,

MISS MELCENIA ELLIOTT.
A
MONG the heroic and devoted women who have labored
for the soldiers of the Union in the late war, and en-
dured all the dangers and privations of hospital life,
is Miss Melcenia Elliott, of Iowa. Born in Indiana,
and reared in the Northern part of Iowa, she grew to woman-
hood amid the scenes and associations of country life, with an art-
less, impulsive and generous nature, superior physical health, and
a heart warm with the love of country and humanity. Her fa-
ther is a prosperous farmer, and gave three of his sons to the
struggle for the Union, who served honorably to the end of their
enlistment, and one of them re-enlisted as a veteran, performing
oftentimes the perilous duties of a spy, that he might obtain valu-
able information to guide the movements of our forces. The
daughter, at the breaking out of the war, was pursuing her
studies at Washington College, in Iowa, an institution open to
both sexes, and under the patronage of the United Presbyterian
Church. But the sound of fife and drum, the organization of
regiments composed of her friends and neighbors, and the enlist-
ment of her brothers in the grand army of the Union fired her
ardent soul with patriotism, and an intense desire to help on the
cause in which the soldiers had taken up the implements of war-
iare.
For many months her thoughts were far more with the soldiers
in the field than on the course of study in the college, and is
380

MISS MELCENI, ELLIOTT.
381
soon as there began to be a demand for female nurses in the hos:
pitals, she was prompt to offer her services and was accepted.
The summer and autumn of 1862, found her in the hospitals
in Tennessee, ready on all occasions for the most difficult posts
of service, ministering at the bed-side of the sick and desponding,
cheering them with her warm words of encouragement and sym-
pathy, and her pleasant smile and ready mirthfulness, the very
best antidote to the depression of spirits and home-sickness of the
worn and tired soldier. In all hospital work, in the offices of
nursing and watching, and giving of medicines, in the prepara-
tion of special diet, in the care and attention necessary to have
the hospital beds clean and comfortable, and the wards in proper
order, she was untiring and never gave way to weariness or failed
in strength. It was pleasant to see with what ease and satisfac-
tion she could lift up a sick soldier's head, smooth and arrange
his pillow, lift him into an easier position, dress his wounds, and
make him feel that somebody cared for him.
During the winter of 1862–3, she was a nurse in one of the
hospitals at Memphis, and rendered most useful and excellent
service. An example of her heroism and fortitude occurred here,
that is worthy of being mentioned. In one of the hospitals there
was a sick soldier who came from her father's neighborhood in
Iowa, whom she had known, and for whose family she felt a
friendly interest. She often visited him in the sick ward where
he was, and did what she could to alleviate his sufferings, and
coinfort him in his illness. But gradually he became worse, and
at a time when he needed her sympathy and kind attention more
than ever, the Surgeon in charge of the hospital, issued an order
that excluded all visitors from the wards, during those portions
of the day when she could leave the hospital where she was on
duty, to make these visits to her sick neighbor and friend. The
front entrance of the hospital being guarded, she could not gain
admission ; but she had too much resolution, energy and courage,
and too much kindness of heart, to be thwarted in her good in-

382
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
tentions by red tape. Finding that by scaling a higl, fence in
the rear of the hospital, she could enter without being obstructed
by guards, and being aided in her purpose by the nurses on duty
in the ward, she made her visits in the evening to the sick man's
bed-side till he died. As it was his dying wish that his remains
might be carried home to his family, none of whom were present,
she herself undertook the difficult and responsible task. Getting
leave of absence from her own duties, without the requisite funds
for the purpose, ,
she was able, by her frank and open address, her
self-reliance, intelligence and courage to accomplish the task, and
nade the journey alone, with the body in charge; all the way
from Memphis to Washington, Iowa, overcoming all difficulties
of procuring transportation, and reaching her destination success-
fully. By this act of heroism, she won the gratitude of many
hearts, and gave comfort and satisfaction to the friends and rela-
tives of the departed soldier.
Returning as far as St. Louis, she was transferred to the large
military hospital at Benton Barracks and did not return to Mem-
phis. Here for many months, during the spring, summer and
autumn of 1863, she seryed most faithfully, and was considered
one of the most efficient and capable nurses in the hospital. At
this place she was associated with a band of noble young women,
under the supervision of that excellent lady, Miss Emily Par-
sons, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who came out from her
pleasant New England home to be at the head of the nursing
department of this hospital, (then in charge of Surgeon Ira Rus-
sell, United States Volunteers), and to do her part towards taking
care of the sick and wounded men who had perilled their lives
for their country. A warm friendship grew up between these
noble women, and Miss Parsons never ceased to regard with deep
interest, the tall, heroic, determined girl, who never allowed any
obstacle to stand between her and any useful service she could
render to the defenders of her country. .
Another incident of her fearless and undaunted bravery will

MISS MELCENIA ELLIOTT.
383
illustrate her character, and especially the self-sacrificing spirit
by which she was animated. During the summer of 1863, it
became necessary to establish a ward for cases of erysipelas, a
disease generating an unhealthy atmosphere and propagating
itself by that means. The surgeon in charge, instead of assign-
ing a female nurse of his own selection to this ward, called for a
volunteer, among the women nurses of the hospital. There was
naturally some hesitancy about taking so trying and dangerous a
position, and, seeing this reluctance on the part of others, Miss
Elliott promptly offered herself for the place. For several
months she performed her duties in the erysipelas ward with the
same constancy and regard for the welfare of the patients that
had characterized her in other positions. It was here the writer
of this sketch first became acquainted with her, and noticed the
cheerful and cordial manner in which she waited upon the suffer-
ers under her care, going from one to another to perform some
office of kindness, always with words of genuine sympathy,
pleasantry and good will.
Late in the fall of 1863, Miss Elliott yielded to the wishes of
the Western Sanitary Commission, and became matron of the
Refugee Home of St. Louis-a charitable institution made neces-
sary by the events of the war, and designed to give shelter and
assistance to poor families of refugees, mostly widows and chil-
dren, who were constantly arriving from the exposed and deso-
lated portions of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mis-
sissippi and Texas, sent North often by military authority as
deck passengers on Government boats to get them away from the
military posts in our possession further South. For one year
Miss Elliott managed the internal affairs of this institution with
great efficiency and good judgment, under circumstances that
were very trying to her patience and fortitude. Many of the
refugees were of the class called “the poor white trash” of the
South, filthy, ragged, proud, indolent, ill-mannered, given to the
smoking and chewing of tobacco, often diseased, inefficient, and

381
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
either unwilling or unable to conform to the necessary regulations
of the Home, or to do their own proper share of the work of the
household, and the keeping of their apartments in a state of
cleanliness and order.
It was a great trial of her Christian patience to see families of
children of all ages, dirty, ragged, and ill-mannered, lounging in
the halls and at the front door, and their mothers doing little
better themselves, getting into disputes with each other, or hover-
ing round a stove, chewing or smoking tobacco, and leaving the
necessary work allotted to them neglected and undone. But out
of this material and this confusion Miss Elliott, by her efficiency
and force of character, brought a good degree of cleanliness and
order. Among other things she established a school in the
Home, gathered the children into it in the evening, taught them
to spell, read and sing, and inspired them with a desire for
knowledge.
At the end of a year of this kind of work Miss Elliott was
called to the position of matron of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home,
at Farmington, Iowa, which she accepted and filled for several
months, with her usual efficiency and success, when, after long
and arduous service for the soldiers, for the refugees and for the
orphans of our country's defenders, she returned to the home of
her family, and to the society and occupations for which she was
preparing herself before the war.

MARY DWIGHT PETTES.
O one who was accustomed to visit the military hospitals
of St. Louis, during the first years of the war, the
meeting with Mary Dwight Pettes in her ministry to
the sick and wounded soldiers must always return as a
pleasant and sacred memory. And such an one will not fail to
recall how she carried to the men pleasant reading, how she sat
by their bed-sides speaking words of cheer and sympathy, and
singing songs of country, home, and heaven, with a voice of an-
gelic sweetness. Nor, how after having by her own exertions,
procured melodeons for the hospital chapels, she would play for
the soldiers in their Sabbath worship, and bring her friends to
make a choir to assist in their religious services.
Slender in form, her countenance radiant with intelligence, and
her dark eyes beaming with sympathy and kindness, it was indeed
a pleasant surprise to see one so young and delicate, going about
from hospital to hospital to find opportunities of doing good to
the wan and suffering, and crippled heroes, who had been brought
from hard-fought battle-fields to be cared for at the North.
But no one of the true Sisters of Mercy, who gave themselves
to this service during the war, felt more intense and genuine sat-
isfaction in her labors than she, and not one is more worthy of
our grateful remembrance, now that she has passed away from
the scene of her joys and her labors forever.
Mary Dwight Pettes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in
the
year 1841, and belonged to a family who were eminent for
49
385

386
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
their intelligence, and religious and moral worth. The circum-
stances of her early life and education are unknown to the writer
of this sketch, but must have been such as to develope that purity
of mind and manners, that sweetness and amiability of temper,
that ready sympathy and disinterestedness of purpose and con-
duct, which, together with rare conversational and musical powers,
she possessed in so high a degree.
Having an uncle and his family resident in St. Louis, the first
year of the war found her in that city, engaged in the work of
ministering to the soldiers in the hospitals with her whole heari
and soul. During the first winter of the great rebellion (1862)
St. Louis was filled with troops, and there were thirteen hospitals
thronged with the sick and wounded from the early battle-fields
of the war.
On the 30th of January of that year she thus wrote
to the Boston Transcript, over her own initials, some account of
her labors and observations at that time. Speaking of the hos-
pitals she said, “It is here that the evils and horrors of the war
become very apparent. Here stout hearts are broken. You see
great numbers of the brave young men of the Western States,
who have left their homes to fight for their country. They were
willing to be wounded, shot, to die, if need be, but after months
of inaction they find themselves conquered by dysentery or fever.
Some fifty or sixty each week are borne to their long home. This
may have been unavoidable, but it is hard to bear.
Last night I returned home in the evening. It was dark, rainy,
cold and muddy. I passed an ambulance in the street. The two
horses had each a leader walking beside them, which indicated
that a very sick soldier was within. It was a sad sight; and yet
this poor man could not be moved, when he arrived at the hos-
pital-door, until his papers were examined to see if they con-
formed to 'Army Regulations. I protest against the coldness
with which the Regulations treat the sick and wounded soldiers."
No doubt her sympathetic heart protested against all delays
and all seeming indifference to the welfare of the poor fellows on
*
*
**
*

MARY DWIGHT PETTES.
387
whose bravery and devotion the salvation of the country de-
pended.
In her devotion to the sick and wounded in the hospitals, and
her labors of love among them, she sacrificed many of her own
comforts and pleasures. Notwithstanding the delicacy of her own
health she would go about among them doing them good.
She took great interest in seeing the soldiers engaged in reli-
gious worship, and in assisting to conduct the exercises of praise
and thanksgiving. When these services were ended she used to
go
from ward to ward, and passing to the bed-side of those who
were too weak to join the worship in the chapel would read to
them the blessed words of comfort contained in the Book of Life,
and sing to them the sweet hymn, "Jesus, I love thy charming
name.”
In one of her papers she has left this record. “For a year I
have visited the hospitals constantly, and during that time they
have been crowded with sick and wounded soldiers. I never
had any idea what suffering was until I had been in the wards
after the battles of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, and Pea
Ridge. The poor fellows are so patient too, and so grateful for
any little service or attention."
In another letter, speaking of the great civil war in which we
were then engaged, she wrote, “Still I have hope, trusting in the
justice of God. Being a constant visitor to the hospitals in and
about this city, I have taken great pleasure in relieving the phy-
sical as well as the spiritual wants of the sick and wounded, as
far
as it has been in my power, proving to them that they have
sympathizing friends near them, although their home-friends
may be far away. I have encouraged them to be cheerful, and
bear their sufferings with heroic fortitude, trusting in God, and a
happier and better future. It has seemed to me that I do them
some good when I find them watching for my coming, and that
every face brightens as I enter the ward, while many say to me,
We are always glad to see you come.
It cheers and comforts us

388
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
mightily to have you come so bright and smiling, asking us how
we do, and saying always some pleasant word, and giving us
something good to read. Then we love to hear you sing to us
Sometimes it makes the tears come in our eyes, but it kind o’lifts
us up, and makes us feel better. We sometimes wonder you
come here so much among us poor fellows, but we have come to
the conclusion that your heart is in the cause for which we are
fighting, and that you want to help and cheer us so that we may
get well and go back to our regiments, and finish up the work
of putting down this infernal rebellion.''
“One day as I lifted up the head of a poor boy, who was lan-
guidly drooping, and smoothed and fixed his pillow, he said,
"Thank you; that's nice. You are so gentle and good to me
that I almost fancy I am at home, and that sister Mary is wait-
ing upon me. »
“Such expressions of their interest and gratitude,” she adds,
“encourage me in this work, and I keep on, though often my
strength almost fails me, and my heart is filled with sadness, as I
see one after another of the poor fellows wasting away, and in a
few days their cots are empty and they sleep the sleep that knows
no waking this side of the grave.”
Thus she labored on in her work of self-sacrificing love and
devotion, with no compensation but the satisfaction that she was
doing good, until late in the month of December, 1862, she was
attacked with the typhoid fever, which she, no doubt, had con-
tracted in the infected air of the hospitals, and died on the 14th
of January, 1863. During her five weeks of illness her thoughts
were constantly with the soldiers, and in her delirium she would
imagine she was among them in their sick wards, and would often
speak to them words of consolation and sympathy.
In a letter of Rev. Dr. Eliot, the Unitarian Pastor, of St.
Louis, published in the Christian Register on the following May,
he gives the impression she had left upon those with whom she
had been sometimes associated in her labors. Miss Pettes was a

MARY DWIGHT PETTES.
389
Unitarian in her religious faith, and this fact was known to one
of the excellent Chaplains who regularly officiated in the hospitals
at St. Louis, and who belonged to the Old School Presbyterian
Church. He had, however, been very glad of her co-operation
and assistance in his work, and in conducting religious worship
in the hospitals, and thus spoke of her to Dr. Eliot, some months
after her death. “Chaplain P. said to me to-day, 'Can you not
send me some one to take the place of Mary Pettes, who died
literally a martyr to the cause six months ago ?' 'I don't think,'
said he, 'that you can find another as good as she, for her whole
heart was in it, and she was like sunshine to the hospital. But,'
he added, "all your people [the Unitarians] work as if they
really cared for the soldiers and loved the cause, and I want more
of them.'»
Such was the impression of her goodness and worth, and moral
beauty left by this New England girl upon the minds of those
who saw her going about in the hospitals of St. Louis, during the
first year and a half of the war, trying to do her part in the great
work given us to do as a nation, and falling a martyr, quite, as
much as those who fell on the field of battle, to the cause of her
country and liberty :—such the brief record of a true and spotless
life given, in its virgin purity and loveliness, as a sacrifice well
pleasing to God.

LOUISA MAERTZ.
0
nurse.
URING the winter of 1863, while stationed at Helena,
Arkansas, the writer was greatly impressed with the
heroic devotion to the welfare of the sick soldier, of a
lady whom he often met in the hospitals, where she
was constantly engaged in services of kindness to the suffering
inmates, attending to their wants, and alleviating their distress.
He soon learned that her name was Louisa Maertz, of Quincy,
Illinois, who had come from her home all the way to Helena—at
a time when the navigation of the river was rendered dangerous
by the firing of guerrillas from the shore upon the passing
steamers—that she might devote herself to the work of a hospital
At a later period, when he learned that she had left a
pleasant home for this arduous service, and saw how bravely she
endured the discomforts of hospital life in Helena, where there
was not a single well-ordered and well-provided hospital; how
she went from one building to another through the filthy and
muddy town, to carry the delicacies she had obtained from the
Sanitary Commission, and dispense them to the sick, with her
own hands, he was still more impressed with these evidences of her
'good, heroic womanhood," and her disinterested benevolence.
Recently he has procured a few particulars of her history, which
will serve for a brief sketch.
Miss Maertz was born in Quincy, Illinois, in 1838. Her
parents were of German birth, and among the early settlers of the
place. From infancy she was of a delicate constitution, and
390

LOUISA MAERTZ.
391
suffered much from ill health; and at the age of eighteen years
she was sent to Europe in the hope that she might derive benefit
from the mineral springs of Germany and from travel and change
of climate. Two years in Germany, Switzerland and Italy were
spent in traveling and in the society of her relatives, some of
whom were the personal friends of the Monods of Paris, Guizot,
the Gurneys of England, Merle D'Aubigne, of Geneva, and
other literary people of Europe, with several of whom she became
acquainted. From this visit abroad she received much benefit,
and her general health was greatly improved.
From an early period she had cherished two strong aspirations,
the desire of knowledge, and the wish to devote herself to works
of charity. Her heart was always ready to sympathize with the
sufferings and sorrows of humanity; and the cause of the orphan,
the slave, the poor and the helpless excited a deep interest in her
mind, and a desire to devote herself in some way to their relief.
After her return from Europe it became an absorbing aspiration
and the subject of earnest prayer that God would show her some
way
in which she could be useful to humanity.
As she was thus becoming prepared for the work upon which
she afterwards entered, the great rebellion, which involved the
country in the late civil war, broke forth; the early battles in
Missouri, and at Fort Donelson and Belmont led to the estab-
lishment of hospitals in St. Louis, at Mound City, and at Quincy,
Illinois; and the opportunity came to Miss Maertz, which she
had so long desired, to undertake some work of charity and
benevolence. During the months of October and November,
1861, she commenced the daily visitation of the hospitals in
Quincy, carried with her delicacies for the sick and distributed
them, procured the redress of any grievances they suffered, read
the Scriptures and conversed with them, wrote letters for them to
their friends, dressed their wounds, and furnished them books,
papers, and sources of amusement. Although her physical
strength at this period was very moderate, she seemed, on enter-

392
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVII. WAR.
ing the hospital, and witnessing the sufferings of brave men, who
had dared everything for their country, to be infused with a new
and strange vigor that sustained her through every exertion.
In particular cases of tedious convalescence, retarded by infe-
rior hospital accommodations, she—with her parents' consent-
obtained permission to take them home, and nurse them till they
were restored to health. Thus she labored on through the fall
and winter of 1861-2 till the battles of Shiloh and Pea Ridge
filled the hospitals with wounded men, at St. Louis and Mound
City, and at Louisville and Evansville and Paducah, and she
began to feel that she must go where her services were more
needed, and give herself wholly to this work of caring for and
nursing the wounded patriots of the war.
After waiting some time for an opportunity to go she wrote to
Mr. James E. Yeatman, at St. Louis, the agent of Miss Dorothea
L. Dix for the appointment of women nurses in the hospitals of
the Western Department, and was accepted. On reporting her-
self at St. Louis she was commissioned as a nurse, and in the fall
of 1862 proceeded to Helena, where the army of the Southwest
had encamped the previous July, under Major-General Curtis,
and where every church and several private buildings had to be
converted into hospitals to accommodate the sick of his army.
It was here, during the winter of 1863, that the writer of this
sketch first met with Miss Maertz, engaged in the work of a hos-
pital nurse, enduring with rare heroism sacrifices and discomforts,
labors and watchings in the service of the sick soldiers that won
the reverence and admiration of all who saw this gentle woman
thus nobly employed. It was of her the following paragraph
was written in the History of the Western Sanitary Commis-
sion.
66 Another one we also know whose name is likewise in this
simple record, who, at Helena, Arkansas, in the fall and winter
of 1862–3, was almost the only female nurse in the hospitals there,
going from one building to another, in which the sick were quar-

LOUISA MAERTZ.
393
tered, when the streets were almost impassable with mud, admin-
istering sanitary stores and making delicate preparations of food,
spending her own money in procuring milk and other articles
that were scarce and difficult to obtain, and doing an amount of
work which few persons could sustain, living without the plea-
sant society to which she had been accustomed at home, never
murmuring, always cheerful and kind, preserving in the midst of
a military camp such gentleness, strength and purity of character
that all rudeness of speech ceased in her presence, and as she
went from room to room she was received with silent benedic-
tions, or an audible ‘God bless you, dear lady,' from some poor
sufferer's heart.”
The last time I saw Miss Maertz, while engaged in her hos-
pital work, was at the grave of a soldier, who was buried at
Helena in the spring of 1863. He was one of the persecuted
Union men of Arkansas, who had enlisted in the Union army on
the march of General Curtis through Arkansas, and had fallen
sick at Helena. For several weeks Miss Maertz had nursed and
cared for him with all a woman's tenderness and delicacy, and
per ceiving that he must die had succeeded in sending a message to
his wife, who lived sixty miles in the interior of Arkansas, within
the enemy's lines. On the afternoon of his death and but a few
hours before it she arrived, having walked the whole distance
on foot with great difficulty, because she was partially blind; but
had the satisfaction of receiving the parting words of her hus-
band and attending his burial. Miss Maertz sent word to me,
asking me to perform the burial service, and the next day I met
her leading the half-blind widow, in her poverty and sorrow, to
the grave. Some months later this poor soldier's widow came to
the Refugee Home, at St. Louis, and was cared for, and being
recognized and the scene of the lonely burial referred to, she
related with tears of gratitude the kindness she received from the
good lady, who nursed her husband in his last illness at Helena.
At a later period in the service, Miss Maertz was transferred
50

394
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
to the hospitals at Vicksburg, where she continued her work of
benevolence till she was obliged to return home to restore her
own exhausted energies. At this time her parents urged her to
go with them to Europe, wishing to take her away from scenes
of suffering, and prostrating disease, but she declined to go, and,
on regaining a measure of health, entered the service again and
continued in it at New Orleans to the end of the war.
In real devotion to the welfare of the soldiers of the Union;
in high religious and patriotic motives; in the self-sacrificing
spirit with which she performed her labors; in the heroism with
which she endured hardship for the sake of doing good; in the
readiness with which she gave up her own interests and the offer
of personal advantages and pleasure to serve the cause of pat-
riotism and humanity, she had few equals.

MRS. HARRIET R. COLFAX. .
HIS lady whose services merit all the praise which has
been bestowed upon them, is a resident of Michigan
City, Indiana, the still youthful widow of a near rela-
tive of the Honorable Schuyler Colfax, the present
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Her father, during her youth, was long an invalid, and his
enforced seclusion from all business pursuits was spent in bestow-
ing instruction upon his children. His conversations with his
children, and the lessons in history which he gave them were
made the means of instilling great moral ideas, and amidst all
others an ardent love of their native country and its institutions.
At the same period of the life of Mrs. Colfax, she was blest with
a mother whose large and active benevolence led her to spend
much time in visiting and ministering to the sick. Her daughter
often accompanied her, and as often was sent alone upon like
errands. Thus she learned the practice of the sentiments which
caused her, in the hour of her country's trial, to lend such ener-
getic and cheerful aid to its wounded defenders.
Previous to the commencement of the war Mrs. Colfax had lost
her husband and her father. Her mother remained to advise
and guide the young widow and her fatherless children, and it
was to her that she turned for counsel, when, on the announce-
ment of the need of female nurses in the hospitals that were so
soon filled with sick and wounded, Mrs. Colfax felt herself im-
pelled to devote herself to this service and ministry.
Her mother and other friends disapproved of her going, and
395

396
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
said all they could in opposition. She listened, and delayed, but
finally felt that she must yield to the impulse. The opposition
was withdrawn, and on the last of October, 1861, she started for
St. Louis to enter the hospitals there.
Her heart was very desolate as she entered this strange city
alone, at ten o'clock at night. Mr. Yeatman, with whom com-
munication had been opened relative to her coming, had neglected
to give her definite directions how to proceed. But she heard
some surgeons talking of the hospitals, and learned that they
belonged to them. From them she obtained the address of Mr.
Yeatman. A gentleman, as she left the cars, stepped forward
and kindly and respectfully placed her in the omnibus which was
to take her across the river. She turned to thank him, but he
was gone. Yet these occurrences, small as they were, had given
her renewed courage—she no longer felt quite friendless, but went
cheerfully upon her way.
She proceeded to the Fifth Street Hospital, where Mr. Yeat-
man had his quarters, and was admitted by the use of his name.
The night nurse, Mrs. Gibson, took kind charge of her for that
night, and in the morning she was introduced to the matron,
Mrs. Plummer, and to Mr. Yeatman. She had her first sight
of wounded men on the night of her arrival, and the thought of
their sufferings, and of how much could be done to alleviate
them, made her forget herself, an obliviousness from which she
did not for weeks recover.
She was assigned to the first ward in which there had been till
then no female nurse, and soon found full employment for hands,
mind and heart. The reception room for patients was on the
same floor with her ward, and the sufferers had to be taken
through it to reach the others, so that she was forced to witness
every imaginable phase of suffering and misery, and her sympa-
thies never became blunted. Many of these men lived but a
short time after being brought in, and one man standing with his
knapsack on to have his name and regiment noted down, fell to

MRS. HARRIET R. COLFAX.
397
the floor as it was supposed in a swoon, but was found to be
dead.
For some time when men were dying all around with typhus
fever and wounds, no clergyman of any denomination visited
them. Mrs. Colfax and other ladies would often at their request
offer up prayers, but they felt that regular religious ministrations
were needed. After a time through the intercession of a lady, a
resident of St. Louis, the Rev. Dr. Schuyler came often to supply
this want, giving great comfort to the sufferers.
About this time, the ward surgeon was removed, and another
substituted in his place, Dr. Paddock. This gentleman thus
speaks of the services and character of Mrs. Colfax:
St. Louis, March 2d, 1866.
Among the many patriotic and benevolent Christian ladies who volunteered
their services to aid, comfort, and alleviate the suffering of the sick and
wounded soldiers of the Union Army in the late wicked and woful Rebellion,
I know of none more deserving of honorable mention and memory, than Mrs.
Harriet R. Colfax. I first met her in the Fifth Street General Hospital of this
city, where I was employed in the spring of 1862; and subsequently in the
General Hospital, at Jefferson Barracks, in 1863. In both these hospitals she
was employed in the wards under my care, and subject to my immediate orders and
observation In both, she was uniformly the same industrious, indefatigable,
attentive, kind, and sympathizing nurse and friend of the sick and wounded
soldier. She prepared delicacies and cordials, and often obtained them to pre-
pare from her friends abroad, in addition to such as were furnished by the Sani-
tary Commission. She administered them with her own hands in such a man-
ner as only a sympathizing and loving woman can; and thus won the heartfelt
gratitude and affection of every soldier to whom it was her duty and her de-
light to administer. No female nurse in either of the hospitals above named,
and there was a large number in each of them, was more universally beloved and
respected, than was Mrs. Colfax. I had not the opportunity to witness her ser-
vices and privations, and vexations on hospital steamers, or elsewhere than in
the two places named above; but I know that they were considerable; and that
everywhere and under all circumstances, she was alike active and honored.”
In Dr. Paddock, Mrs. Colfax truly found a friend, and she was
able to accomplish a greater amount of good under his kind di-
rections. The Ward was crowded. The wounded arrived from
鲁
​
398
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Fort Donelson in a miserable condition. From exposure, many
were dangerously ill with pneumonia, and died very soon; few
recovered, but the wounded did much better than the sick, anil
were so patient and cheerful, that even those suffering from the
worst wounds, or amputations, would hardly have been known
nut tu be well, save by their pale faces and weak voices. Many
would not give way till the last moment, but with strong cour-
age, and brave cheerfulness, would close their eyes on things of
earth, and pass silently into the unseen world.
In the spring, Mrs. Colfax, finding herself much worn by se-
vere work and frequent colds, gladly availed herself of the
change offered by a trip on the Hospital-boat, Louisiana, then
just fitted up by the Sanitary Commission.
At Cairo, they received orders to proceed to Island No. 10,
and there unexpectedly found themselves in the well-known bat-
tle which took place at that point on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of
March, 1862.
The Batteries of the enemy, on the banks and Island, were en-
gaged with the Union gunboats. The firing was incessant and
protracted, but not very disastrous. At last the firing from one
of the gunboats resulted in the killing and wounding of a num-
ber of the enemy, which last were brought on board the Loui-
siana for care. After remaining there ten days, the Louisiana
returned to Cairo, and receiving on board the wounded from
Mound City Hospital, carried them to Cincinnati. Mrs. Colfax
and her friends were very busy in the care of these poor men, many
of them very low, giving unceasing attentions to them, and even
then feeling that they had not done half enough.
Immediately after their return to Cairo, they left for Savannah
and Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River. They took
from the latter place two hundred and fifty men, leaving again
before the battle of Shiloh. This took place immediately after
they left, and they ran up to St. Louis, landed their freight of
wounded, and returned immediately for another load.

MRS. HARRIET R. COLFAX.
399
Two hundred and seventy-five desperately wounded men from
the battle of Shiloh, formed this load. They quickly made their way
Northward with their freight of misery and suffering. This was be-
yond the power of the imagination to conceive, and the nurses were
too busy in their cares to sleep or eat. The sorrowful labor was
at last performed, the wounded were transferred to the hospitals
at St. Louis, and Mrs. Colfax returned to her duties there.
After remaining some time in the Fifth Street Hospital, and
making occasional trips on the Hospital-boats, Mrs. Colfax was
sent to the Hospital at Jefferson Barracks, where she remained a
long time, and where her services, so eminently kind, efficient
and womanly, met the success they so much deserved.
She remained in the service as a hospital nurse two years and
a half. Except while on the hospital boats, and during brief
stays at the various hospitals of the South-west, while attached
to the Transport Service, she spent the entire time at Fifth Street
Hospital, St. Louis, and at Jefferson Barracks. In each and
every place her services were alike meritorious, and though she
encountered many annoyances, and unpleasant incidents, she does
not now regret the time and labor she bestowed in doing her share
of the woman's work of the war.
Like all earnest, unselfish workers, in this eminently unselfish
service, Mrs. Colfax delights to bear testimony to the efficient
labors of others.
All who worked with her were her friends, and she has the
fullest appreciation of their best qualities, and their earnest
efforts. Among those she names thus feelingly, are Mrs. Plum-
mer, the matron of the Fifth Street Hospital, St. Louis, Miss
Addie E. Johnson, Mrs. Gibson, and others, her fellow-workers
there.
Early in 1864, quite worn out with her protracted labors, Mrs.
Colfax returned to her home in Michigan City, where she still
resides, honored, beloved and respected, as her character and ser-
vices demand.

MISS CLARA DAVIS.
T
HIS lay, now the wife of the Rev. Edward Abbott,
of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, was one of the ear-
liest, most indefatigable and useful of the laborers for
Union soldiers during the war.
Her labors com-
menced early in the winter of 1861-62, in the hospitals of Phila-
delphia, in which city she was then residing.
Her visits were at first confined to the Broad and Cherry Street
Hospital, and her purpose at first was to minister entirely to the
religious wants of the sick, wounded and dying soldiers. Her
interest in the inmates of that institution was never permitted to
die out.
It was not patriotism,--for Miss Davis was not a native of
this country—but rather a profound sympathy with the cause in
which they were engaged which led her, in company with the
late Rev. Dr. Vaughan of Philadelphia (of whose family she was
an inmate) to visit this place and aid him in his philanthropic
and official duties. The necessity of the case led her to labor
regularly and assiduously to supply the lack of many comforts
which was felt here, and the need of woman's nursing and com-
forting ways. By the month of May, ensuing, she was giving
up her whole time to these ministrations, and this at a consider-
able sacrifice, and extending her efforts so as to alleviate the
temporal condition of the sufferers, as well as to minister to their
spiritual ones.
In the early part of this summer, memorable as the season of
400

MISS CLARA DAVIS.
401
ورو
the Peninsula Campaign, she, in company with Mrs. M. M. Hus-
band, of Philadelphia, entered upon the transport service on the
James and Potomac Rivers, principally on board the steamer
“John Brooks”—passing to and fro with the sick and wounded
between Harrison's Landing, Fortress Monroe and Philadelphia.
This joint campaign ended with a sojourn of two months at Mile
Creek Hospital, Fortress Monroe.
Her friend, Mrs. H. thus speaks of her. "A more lovely
Christian character, a more unselfishly devoted person, than
Miss Davis, I have never known. Her happy manner of
approaching the soldiers, especially upon religious subjects, was
unequalled; the greatest scoffer would listen to her with respect
and attention, while the majority followed her with a glance of
veneration as if she were a being of a superior order. I heard
one say, 'there must be wings hidden beneath her cloak.'
After leaving Fortress Monroe, Miss Davis returned to Phila-
delphia, and recruited her supplies for the use of the soldiers,
She was anxious to be permitted .o serve in the field hospitals,
but owing to unusual strictness of regulation at that time, she
was not permitted to do so. Later in the season she accompanied
Mrs. Husband to Frederick City, Harper's Ferry and Antietam,
at which latter place, by the invitation of Surgeon Vanderkieft,
and Miss Hall, she remained several weeks doing very acceptable
service.
During the winter of 1863 she renewed her efforts to gain per-
mission to serve in the field hospitals of the army, then in winter
quarters between Falmouth and Acquia Creek, but was again
repulsed. In the spring she once more renewed her efforts, but
*without success. Again visiting Washington, she was requested
to become the agent of the Sanitary Commission, at Camp Parole,
Annapolis, Maryland.
She commenced her laborious duties at Camp Parole about the
1st of May, 1863. She made numerous friends here, among all
classes with whom she came in contact, and did a most admirable
51

402
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
work among the returned prisoners. She remained here the
whole summer, never allowing herself one day's absence, until
October. She suffered from ague, and her labors were far too
great for her strength. Camp, or typhoid fever, seized her, and
after long striving against weakness and pain, she was obliged to
return to her home to recruit. She made great efforts to again
take up her work where she had been obliged to leave it, but her
strength would not admit.
She did not recover from this illness until the following Feb-
ruary, nor even then could she be said to have fully recovered.
As soon as the state of her health permitted, indeed before her
physician gave his consent, she resumed her labors at Camp
Parole, but in a few weeks the fever set in again, and further
service was rendered impossible. Thus closed the ministrations
in field and hospital, of one, of whom a friend who knew her
well, and appreciated her fully, simply says, “Her deeds were
beyond praise."
Her health was so undermined by her labors, that it has never
been fully recovered, and she still suffers, as she perhaps will to
the end of her life, from the weakness and diseases induced, by
her unwonted exertions, and the fevers which so greatly pros-
trated her.
Nearly two years, as we have seen, she gave to her labors in
camp and hospital, labors which, as we have seen, were princi-
pally directed to the relief of physical sufferings, though she
never forgot to mingle with them the spiritual ministrations
which were the peculiar feature of her usefulness.
The interest of Miss Davis was not limited to soldiers in hos-
pitals, any more than were her labors confined to efforts for their
relief. From her numerous friends, and from societies, she was
in constant receipt of money, delicacies, reading matter, and many
other things, both valuable and useful to the soldiers, and not
embraced in the government supplies, nor sold by sutlers. These
she distributed among both sick and well, as their needs required.

MISS CLARA DAVIS.
403
“She corresponded largely with the friends of sick soldiers;
she represented their needs to those who had the means to relieve
them; she used her influence in obtaining furloughs for the con-
valescents, and discharges for the incurables; she importuned
tape-bound officials for passes, that the remains of the poor unpaid
soldier might be buried beside his parents; she erected head-
boards at every soldier's grave at that time in the cemetery at
West Philadelphia, as a temporary memorial and record.”
In the heat of Virginian summers, and the inclement winters,
it was with her the same steady unchanged work, till sickness
put an end to her labors. Till the last her intercourse with the
soldiers was always both pleasant, and in the highest sense profit-
able.

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
F all the band of noble women who during the war
gave their time and best labors with devotedness and
singleness of purpose to the care of the suffering de-
fenders of their country, few, perhaps, have been as
efficient and useful in their chosen sphere as Mrs. Spencer.
That she left a home of quiet ease and comfort, and gave her-
self, with her whole soul, to the cause she loved, is not more than
very many others have done, but she incited her husband to
offer himself to his country, and gladly accompanied him, sharing
all his privations, and creating for him, amid the rudest sur-
roundings, home with all its comforts and enjoyments.
At the commencement of the war, Mrs. Spencer was living at
Oswego, New York, which had been her residence for many
years. Her husband, Captain R. H. Spencer, had been formerly
commander of several of the finest vessels which sail from that
port in the trade upon the upper lakes. But for some years he
had remained on shore, and devoted himself to the occupation of
teaching, in which he had a very fine reputation. Mrs. Spencer
was also a teacher, and both were connected with the public
schools for which that city is celebrated.
Mr. Spencer was a member of that wing of the Democratic
party which opposed the war, and his age already exempted him
from military duty.
When, therefore, immediately after the battle of Antietan he
announced to Mrs. Spencer that he had resolved to enlist in the
404

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
405
Regiment then rapidly forming in that city, she knew well, as
did all who knew him, that only an imperative sense of personal
duty had led to the decision.
Oswego had to mourn the most irreparable losses in that battle.
The flower of her young men had been cut down, and many
homes made desolate. Mr. Spencer, like many others, felt im-
pelled to add himself to the patriot ranks, and help to fill the
gaps left by the fallen.
Mrs. Spencer, whose name and person had long been familiar
to the sick and suffering at home, had often longed for the power
of ministering to those who had taken their lives in their hands,
and
gone forth in the service of their country. And she now not
only gave her husband to the work, but resolved to aid him in
it. She might not stand by his side, in the armed ranks, but
there was, for her, service as arduous and important, for which she
was peculiarly fitted, not only by the extreme kindness and
benevolence of her nature, but by experience in the care of the
sick.
When her husband had enlisted and was sworn into the ser-
vice, she, too, took the oath to faithfully serve her country, and
her place by his side.
The regiment (one hundred and forty-seventh New York) left
Oowego the 27th of September, 1862, and arrived in Washington
th: 1st of October. Mrs. Spencer, fatigued and ill, overcome
with the excitement of preparation, perhaps, and the grief of
parting with her friends, found herself thus in a strange city and
upon the threshold of a strange new life. She obtained a little
sleep upon a bench outside the Soldiers' Rest, and though scarcely
refreshed commenced her duties early on the following morning
by feeding from her own stores six wounded men from the battle
of Antietam, who had arrived during the night. After making
tea for them, and doing all she could for their comfort, she was
obliged to leave, as the regiment was en route for Arlington
Heights.

406
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Mrs. Spencer remained in the neighborhood of Washington
until the middle of the December following. The regiment had
gone forward some time previously, leaving herself and husband
in charge of the hospital stores. Her husband was ward-master
of the hospital, and she was matron and nurse.
When the hospital tents and stores were sent to Acquia Creek,
to the regiment, Mr. and Mrs. Spencer remained for a time to
care for the sick and wounded in Washington, and volunteered
to take care of the wounded from the first battle of Fredericks-
burg, who were brought to the Patent Office.
On the 12th of January Mr. Spencer went to join the regiment
at Falmouth, while Mrs. Spencer proceeded to New York for
supplies, and on the 17th returned and joined the regiment at
Belle Plain, proceeding almost immediately to Wind Mill Point,
in company with the sick and wounded removed thither. Here
she remained six months, engaged in her arduous duties as matron
in the hospital of the First Corps, to which her husband was also
attached.
From this place they were transferred to Belle Plain, and after
a short stay from thence to Acquia Creek, where they remained
attached to the hospital until the 13th of June, when they were
ordered to report to their regiment, then lying near Falmouth.
Mrs. Spencer had by this time, by much practice, become an
expert horse-woman, often foraging on her own account for sup-
plies for the sick and wounded under her care. By the order of
Dr. Hurd, the Medical Director of the First Corps, she took with
her the horse she had been accustomed to ride, and a few days
afterwards commenced on horseback the march to Gettysburg-
now become historical.
Nearly two weeks were consumed in this march, one of which
was spent in an encampment on Broad Run.
Mrs. Spencer's horse carried, besides herself, her bedding, sun-
dry utensils for cooking, and a scanty supply of clothing, about
three hundred and fifty pounds of supplies for the sick. In

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
407
addition to this she often took charge of huge piles of coats be-
longing to the weary men, which otherwise they would have
thrown away as superfluous during the intense heat of midday,
to miss them sorely afterward amid the twilight dews, or the
drenching rains.
The battle had already commenced as the long slow-moving
train, to which they were attached, approached Gettysburg, and
the awful roar of cannon and the scattering rattle of musketry
reached their ears.
The day previous an ammunition-wagon in their train had
exploded, and Mrs. Spencer had torn up the thick comforter
which usually formed her bed, that the driver of the wagon, who
was fearfully burned, might be wrapped in the cotton and ban-
daged by the calico of which it was made. Mr. Spencer remained
to care for the man, and at night-a dark and rainy night-she
found herself for the first time separated from her husband, and
unprotected by any friend. But the respectful and chivalric in-
stincts of American soldiers proved sufficient for her defense
against any evil that might have menaced her. They spread
their rubber blankets upon the muddy ground, and made a sort
of tent with others, into which she crept and slept guarded and
secure through the long dark hours. At morning they vied with
each other in preparing her breakfast, and waiting upon her with
every possible respect and attention, and she went on her way,
rested and refreshed.
In the course of the morning Mr. Spencer rejoined her. After
the firing was heard, telling the tale of the awful conflict that
was progressing, she felt that she could no longer remain with
the halting train, but must press on to some point where her work
of mercy might commence.
This was found in an unoccupied barn, not far from the field,
where, by the assistance of her husband, she got a fire and soon
had her camp-kettles filled with fragrant coffee, which she distrib-

408
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
uted to every weary and wounded man who applied for the
refreshing beverage.
Wounded in considerable numbers from the Eleventh Corps
were placed in this barn to gain which they crossed the fields
between two rows of artillery, stationed there. Mrs. Spencer had
two knapsacks and two haversacks suspended from her saddle,
and supplied with materials for making tea, coffee and beef-tea-
with these and crackers, she contrived to provide refreshment.
Meanwhile the balls and shells were falling fast around the barn,
and orders came to move further back.
But this brave woman with her husband chose to move forward
rather, in search of her own regiment, though the enemy were then
gaining upon the Union troops. As they went on toward the
battle, they found their regiment stationed on a hill above them,
and halting they made a fire and prepared refreshments which
they gave to all they could reach.
While working here the Surgeon of the First Division came
hurrying past, and peremptorily called on Mrs. Spencer to go
and help form a hospital. When she and Mr. Spencer found
that many men of their own regiment were in the train of ambu-
lances which was going slowly past with the sufferers, they
followed.
They crossed to the White Church, on the Baltimore turnpike,
about four miles from Gettysburg, and reached there after dark.
They had sixty wounded undergoing every variety of suffering
and torture. The church was small, having but one aisle, and
the narrow seats were fixtures. A small building adjoining pro-
vided boards which were laid on the tops of the seats, and
covered with straw, and on these the wounded were laid.
The supply train had been sent back fourteen miles.
A num-
ber of surgeons were there, but none had instruments, and could
do very little for the wounded, and Mrs. Spencer found the stores
contained in her knapsacks and haversacks most useful in refresh-
ing these sufferers.

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
409
her own.
In the course „f a few days the confusion subsided. The hos-
pital was thoroughly organized. The Sanitary and Christian
Commissions and the people came and aided them, and order
came out of the chaos that followed this awful battle.
On the 5th of July, the buildings and tents which formed this
hospital contained over six hundred Union troops, and more than
one hundred wounded prisoners, and Mrs. Spencer found herself
constantly and fully employed, nursing the wounded, and daily
riding into town for supplies.
It was here that she gained, and very justly as it would seem,
the credit of saving the life of a wounded soldier, a townsman of
The man was shot in the mouth and throat, a huge
gaping orifice on the side of his neck showing where the ball
found exit. The surgeons gave him but a few days to live, as he
could swallow nothing, the liquids which were all he even could
attempt to take, passing out by the wound. Tearfully he be-
sought Mrs. Spencer's aid. Young and strong, and full of life,
he could not contemplate a death of slow starvation. Mrs.
Spencer went to the surgeons and besought their aid. None of
them could give hope, for none conceived the strength of will in
nurse or patient.
“Do as I tell you and you shall not die,” said Mrs.
Spencer. “Can you bear to go without food a week?"
Gratefully the man signed “yes,” and with the tough unyield-
ing patience of a hero, he bore the pains of wound and hunger.
In the meantime the chief appliance was the basin of pure cold
water from which he was directed to keep his wound continually
wet, that horrid wound which it seemed no human skill could
heal.
In a few days the inflammation began to subside, even the sur-
geons decided the symptoms good, and began to watch the case
with interest. The ragged edges of the wound, when the swell-
ing subsided, could be closed up. Then, by direction of his
kind nurse, he plunged his face into a basin of broth, and supped
52

410
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
from it strength, since it did not all escape from the still unhealed
wound. Every day witnessed an improvement. In a little time
he took his food like a human being; each day witnessed new
strength and healing, and then he was saved, and the nurse
proved wiser, for once, than the doctor!
For three weeks Mrs. Spencer remained in the White Church
Hospital. She then accompanied some wounded to New York
City, and took a brief respite from her duties, and the awful
scenes she had witnessed.
On her return to Gettysburg, she received as a mark of the es-
teem felt for her by those who had witnessed her labors and devo-
tion to the work, and the confidence reposed in her, the appoint-
ment of Agent of the State of New York, in the care of its sick
and wounded soldiers in the field. Large discretionary powers,
both as to the purchase and the distribution of supplies, were
granted her; and every effort was made to have this appointment
distinguished as a mark of the high appreciation and esteem
which she had won in the discharge of her duties.
As her husband was detailed as clerk in the Medical Purvey-
or's Office, at Gettysburg, she remained there in the active per-
formance of her duties for a considerable time.
Beside the supplies furnished by the State of New York, a
large amount were entrusted to her, by various Ladies’ Aid Soci-
eties, and kindred associations.
After leaving Gettysburg, Mrs. Spencer was variously but use-
fully employed at various places, and in various ways, but always
making her duties as State agent for the New York troops promi-
nent, and of the first importance. She was for some time at
Brandy Station. While there her husband received his dis-
charge from the Volunteer Service, but immediately entered the
regular service, as Hospital Steward, and was attached to the
Medical Purveyor's Department.
From Brandy Station, Mrs. Spencer went to Alexandria, and
remained there until after the battle of the Wilderness, when she

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
411
was ordered by the Surgeon-General to repair to Rappahan-
nock Station, with needful supplies for the wounded. On arriv-
ing there, no wounded were found, and it was rumored that the
ambulances containing them had been intercepted by the enemy,
and turned another way.
The party therefore returned to Alexandria, and there received
orders to repair with stores to Belle Plain. The Steamer on
which Mrs. Spencer was, arrived at day-break at its destination,
but she could not for some time get on shore. As soon as possi-
ble she landed, anxious to let her services be of some avail to the
many wounded who stood in immediate need of assistance, and
thinking she might at least make coffee or tea for some of them.
After distributing what supplies she had, she found in an-
other part of the field several Theological Students, delegates
of the Sanitary Commission, who were making coffee in camp
kettles for the wounded. Her services were thankfully accepted
by them. All the day, and far into the night they worked,
standing inches deep in the tenacious Virginia mud, till thou-
sands had been served.
All the afternoon the wounded were arriving. Thousands
were laid upon the ground, upon the hill-side, perhaps under the
shelter of a bush, perhaps with only the sky above them, from
which the rain poured in torrents.
All with scarcely an exception were patient, cheerful, and
thoughtful—when asked as to their own condition, seeming more
troubled by the risk she ran in taking cold, than of their own
sufferings.
Late in the night, she remembered that she was alone, and
must rest somewhere. A wagon driver willingly gave her his
place in the wagon, and thoroughly drenched with rain, and cov-
ered with mud, she there rested for the first time in many hours.
Her sad and anxious thoughts with her physical discomforts pre-
vented sleep, but with the dawn she had rested so much, as to be
able to resume her labors.

412
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Another, and another day passed. The wounded from those
fearful battles continued to arrive, and to be cared for, as well as
was possible under the circumstances. The workers were shortly
afterward made as comfortable as was possible. For two weeks
Mrs. Spencer remained, and labored at Belle Plain, remained till
her clothing of which, not expecting to remain, she had brought
no change, was nearly worn out. The need was so pressing, of
care for the wounded, that she scarcely thought of herself.
Iu the latter part of May, she left Belle Plain, and went to
Port Royal, where similar scenes were enacted, save that there a
shelter was provided. She had joined forces with the Sanitary
Commission, and the facilities were now good and the workers
numerous, yet it was barely possible, with all these, and with
Government and Commission supplies, and private contributions,
to feed the applicants.
The Medical Purveyor's boat with her husband on board, hav-
ing arrived, Mrs. Spencer proceeded on that boat to White House,
where she was placed in Superintendence of the Government
Cooking Barge, continuing at the same time her supervision of
the wants of the New York soldiery.
Here they fed the first wounded who arrived from the field,
and here Mrs. Spencer continued many days directing the feed-
ing of thousands more, ever remembering the regiments from her
own State, as her special charge, and assisted by many volunteers
and others in her arduous task.
On the 18th of June, 1864, Mrs. Spencer arrived at City Point.
The wounded were still arriving, and there was enough for all to
do. A Hospital was here established, a mile from the landing.
The Government kitchen was kept up, till the hospitals and their
kitchens were in full operation, when it was discontinued, and
Mrs. Spencer relieved from her double task.
From that time, Mrs. Spencer confined herself mostly to the
duties of her agency, and continued to make City Point her head-
quarters and base of operations until the close of the war closed

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
413
the agency, and left her free once again to seek the welcome se-
clusion of her home.
She occasionally visited the General Hospitals to distribute
supplies to her New York soldiers and others, but these being
now well organized, did not, owing to the plenty of attendants
greatly need her services, and they were mostly confined to visits
to soldiers in the field, at the Front, Field Hospitals, and in the
Rifle Pits. *
Her equestrian skill now often came in use. Often a ride of
from twenty to forty miles in the day would enable her to visit
some outlying regiment or picket station, or even to reach the
Rifle Pits that honeycombed plain and hill-side all about Peters-
burg and Richmond, and return the same day. On these occa-
sions she was warmly and enthusiastically welcomed by the sol-
diers, not only for what she brought, but for the comfort and
solace of her presence.
She was often in positions of great peril from whizzing shot
and bursting shell, but was never harmed during these dangerous
visits. On one occasion, she was probably by reason of her black
hat and feather, mistaken for an officer, as she for a moment care-
lessly showed the upper part of her person, from a slight emi-
nence near the rifle pits, and was fired at by one of the enemy's
sharp-shooters. The ball lodged in a tree, close by her side,
from which she deliberately dug it out with her penknife, retain-
ing it as a memento of her escape.
Few of us whose days have been passed in the serene quietude
of home, can imagine the comfort and joy her presence and cheer-
ing words brought to the “boys” undergoing the privations and
discomforts of their station at the “Front,” in those days of peril
and siege. As she approached, her name would be heard passing
from man to man, with electric swiftness, and often the shouts
* Every facility was furnished her by the various officers in command, and
a special and permanent pass by General Grant.

414
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE IVIL WAR.
that accompanied it, would receive from the enemy a warlike re-
sponse in the strange music of the whistling shot, or the burst-
ing shell.
Through all this she seemed to bear a charmed life. “I never
believed I should be harmed by shot or shell,” she says, and her
simple faith was justified.
She even escaped nearly unharmed the fearful peril of the
great explosion at City Point, when, as it is now supposed, by
rebel treachery, the ammunition barge was fired, and hundreds
of human beings without an instant's warning, were hurried into
eternity.
When this event occurred, she was on horseback near the
landing, and in turning to flee was struck, probably by a piece
of shell, in the side. Almost as by a miracle she escaped with
only a terrible and extensive bruise, and a temporary paralysis of
the lower limbs. The elastic steel wires of her crinoline, had
resisted the deadly force of the blow, which otherwise would
undoubtedly have killed her. A smaller missile, nearly cut away
the string of her hat, which was found next day covered by the
ghastly smear of human blood and flesh, which also sprinkled all
her garments.
After the surrender of Richmond, Mrs. Spencer, with a party
of friends, visited that city, and she records that she experienced
a very human sense of satisfaction, as she saw some rebel pris-
oners marching into that terrible Libby Prison, to take the place
of the Union prisoners who had there endured such fearful and
nameless sufferings.
On the 8th of April the President came to visit the hospitals
at City Point, shaking hands with the convalescents, who were
drawn up to receive him, and speaking cheering words to all. А
week later he had fallen the victim of that atrocious plot which
led to his assassination.
Mrs. Spencer remained at City Point, engaged in her duties,
till all the wounded had been removed, and the hospitals broken

MRS. R. H. SPENCER.
415
up. .
On the 31st of May, she went on the medical supply boat
to Washington. She there offered her services to aid in any way
in care of the wounded, while she remained, which she did for
several days. About the middle of June she once more found
herself an inmate of her own home, and, after the long season of
busy and perilous days, gladly retired to the freedom and quiet
of private life. She remained in the service about three years,
and the entire time, with only the briefest intervals of rest, was
well and profitably occupied in her duties, a strong will and an
excellent constitution having enabled her to endure fatigues which
would soon have broken down a person less fitted, in these
respects, for the work.
Mrs. Spencer has received from soldiers, (who are all her grate-
ful friends) from loyal people in various parts of the country,
and from personal friends and neighbors, many tokens of appre-
ciation, which she enumerates with just pride and gratitude.
Not the least of these is her house and its furniture, a horse, a
sewing machine, silver ware, and expensive books; beside smaller
articles whose chief value arises from the feeling that caused the
gifts. Her health has suffered in consequence of her labors but
she now hopes for permanent recovery.

MRS. HARRIET FOOTE HAWLEY.
MONG the many heroic women who gave their services
to their country in our recent warfare, few deserve more
grateful mention than Mrs. Harriet Foote Hawley,
wife of Brevet Major-General Hawley, the present
Governor of Connecticut.
Mrs. Hawley is of a fragile and delicate constitution, and one
always regarded by her friends as peculiarly unfitted to have part
in labors or hardships of any kind. But from the beginning to
the end of the war, she was an exemplification of how much may
be done by one "strong of spirit,” even with the most delicate
physical frame.
She went alone to Beaufort, South Carolina, in November,
1862, to engage in teaching the colored people. While there she
regularly visited the army hospitals, and interested herself in the
practical details of nursing, to which she afterwards more partic-
ularly devoted herself, and that spring and summer did the same
at Fernandina and St. Augustine.
In November, 1863, she rejoined her husband on St. Helena
Island, to which he had returned with his regiment from the
siege of Charleston. She visited the Beaufort and Hilton Head
General Hospitals, as well as the post hospital at St. Helena fre-
quently during the winter, especially after the severe battle of
Olustee, in February, 1864. When the Tenth Corps went to
Fortress Monroe, to join General Butler's army, Mrs. Hawley
went with them, and failing to find work in the Chesapeake Hos-
416

MRS. HARRIET FOOTE HAWLEY.
417
pital, went to Washington and was assigned the charge of a ward
in the Armory Square Hospital, on the very morning when the
wounded began to arrive from the battles of the Wilderness.
Her ward was one of the two in the armory itself, which for a
considerable time contained more patients than any other in that
hospital. “Armory Square” being near the Potomac, usually
received the most desperate cases, which could with difficulty be
moved far. There could be no operating room connected with this
ward, and the operations, however painful or dreadful, were of
necessity performed in the ward itself. The scenes presented
were enough to appal the stoutest nerves. The men exhausted
by marching and by a long journey after their wounds, died with
great rapidity—in one day forty-eight were carried out dead-
many reaching the hospital only in time to die.
Among scenes like these Mrs. Hawley took up her abode, and
labored with an untiring zeal over four months in the hottest of
the summer weather-never herself strong—often suffering to a
degree that would have confined others to the bed of an invalid.
She was ever at her post, a guiding, directing, and comforting
presence, until worn-out nature required a temporary rest. After
two months of repose she again returned to the same ward, and
continued her labors from November to the last of March, 1865.
About the first of March, directly after its capture, her husband
had been assigned to the command of Wilmington, North Caro-
lina.
She arrived at Wilmington, directly after nine thousand Union
prisoners had been delivered there, of whom more than three
thousand needed hospital treatment.
The army was entirely unprovided with any means of meeting
this exigency. The horrible condition of the prisoners, and the
crowds of half-fed whites and blacks collected in the town, bred a
pestilence. Typhus or jail fever appeared in its most dreadful
form, and the deaths were terribly frequent. The medical officers
tried all their energies to get supplies.
53

418
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The garrison, the loyal citizens, and all good people gave their
spare clothing, and all delicacies of food within reach, to alleviate
the suffering. At one time nearly four thousand sick soldiers,
together with some wounded from the main army, were scattered
through the dwellings and churches of the town, and a consider-
able time elapsed before one clean garment could be found for
each sufferer.
The principal surgeon, Dr. Buzzell, of New
Hampshire, died of over exertion and typhoid fever. Of five
northern ladies, professional nurses, three were taken sick and
two died. Chaplain Eaton died of the fever, and other chaplains
were severely sick. To the detailed soldiers the fever and climate
proved a greater danger than a battle-field. Through all these
scenes of trial and danger Mrs. Hawley exerted herself to the
utmost, in the hospitals, and among the poor of the town, avoid-
ing no danger of contagion, not even that of small-pox.
Gradually supplies arrived, better hospitals were provided, the
town was cleansed, and by the latter part of June—though the
city was still unhealthy—but few cases remained in the hos-
pitals.
Mrs. Hawley accompanied her husband to Richmond about the
1st of July, where he had been appointed chief of staff to Gen-
eral Terry. In October, while returning from the battle-ground
of Five Forks, where she had been with an uncle to find the
grave of his son (Captain Parmerlee, First Connecticut Cavalry)
she received an injury on the head by the upsetting of the ambu-
lance, through which unfortunately she remains still an invalid.
Her name and memory must be dear to hundreds whose suffer-
ings she has shared and relieved, and she will be followed in her
retirement by the prayers of grateful hearts.
Although it does not perhaps belong to the purpose of this
book, it seems not inappropriate to make mention of the labors
of Mrs. Hawley in the education of the freedmen and their fam-
ilies. Both she and her sister, Miss Kate Foote, labored in this
sphere long and assiduously.

MRS. HARRIET FOUTE HAWLEY.
419
Governor Hawley was one of the speakers at the Boston anni-
versaries, in May, 1866. Colonel Higginson, in alluding to his
personal services, said he would tell of his better half. When Col-
onel Hawley went as commander of the Seventh Connecticut to
Port Royal, to do his share of conquering and to conquer, he took
with him a thousand bayonets on one side, and a Connecticut woman
with her schoc l-hooks on the other (applause). Where he planted
the standard of the Union, she planted its institutions; and where
he waved the sword, she waved the primer.

ELLEN E. MITCHELL.
JIS lady, better known among those to whom she
ministered as “Nellie Mitchell,” was at the opening
of the late war a resident of Montrose, Pennsylvania,
where, surrounded by friends, the inmate of a pleasant
home, amiable, highly educated and accomplished, her early
youth had been spent. Her family was one of that standing
often named as “our first families," and her position one every
way desirable.
Perhaps her own words extracted from a letter to the writer
of this sketch will give the best statement of her views and
motives.
“I only did my duty, did what I could, and did it because it
would have been a great act of self-denial not to have done it.
“I have ever felt that those who cheerfully gave their loved
ones to their country's cause, made greater sacrifices, manifested
more heroism, were worthy of more honor by far, than those of
us who labored in the hospitals or on the fields. I had not
these dear ones' to give, so gave heartily what I could, myself
to the cause, with sincere gratitude, I trust, to God, for the privi.
lege of thus doing."
Miss Mitchell left her home in Montrose early in May, 1861,
and proceeded to New York city, where she went through a
course of instruction in surgical nursing at Bellevue Hospital,
preparatory to assuming the duties of an army nurse.
The un-
420

ELLEN E. MITCHELL.
421
same manner.
wonted labors, the terrible sights, and close attendance so impaired
her health that after six weeks she concluded to go to Woodbury,
Connecticut, where she remained with friends while awaiting
orders, and in consequence did not join the army as soon as she
otherwise would. Being absent from New York, one or two
opportunities were lost, and it was not until September that her
labors in the military hospitals commenced.
She had intended to give her services to her country, but after
witnessing the frequent destitution of comforts among those to
whom she ministered, she decided to receive the regular pay of a
nurse from the Government, and appropriated it entirely to the
benefit of the suffering ones around her.
Luxuries sent by her friends for her own use she applied in the
The four years of her service were filled with
self-sacrifice and faithful devoted labor.
Miss Mitchell spent the first three months in Elmore Hotel
Hospital, Georgetown, District of Columbia. Around this place
cluster some of the pleasantest, as well as the saddest memories
of her life. The want of a well-arranged, systematic plan of
action in this hospital, made the tasks of the nurses peculiarly
arduous and trying. Yet Miss Mitchell records that she never
found more delight in her labors, and never received warmer
expressions of gratitude from her “boys.” On being brought for
the first time to a place associated in their minds only with gloom
and suffering the joyful surprise of these poor fellows at finding
kind hearts and willing hands ready to minister to their wants
with almost motherly, or sisterly affection, exceeded words and
called forth such manifestations of gratitude as amply rewarded
those who thus watched over them for all their toils. Often as they
saw these kindly women engaged in their busy tasks of mercy,
their eyes would glisten as they followed them with the most
intense earnestness, and their lips would unconsciously utter
remarks like these, so homely and spontaneous as to leave no
doubt of their sincerity. “How good! how hone-like to see

422
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
women moving around! We did not expect anything like
this!"
But much as she loved her work and had become attached to
her charges, circumstances of a very painful nature soon com-
pelled Miss Mitchell to resign her post in this hospital. Very
unworthy hands sometimes assume a ministry of kindness. There
were associations here so utterly repugnant to Miss Mitchell, that
with a sorrowful heart she at last forced herself to turn her back
upon the suffering, in order to be free from them.
But Providence soon opened the way to another engagement.
In less than two weeks she entered St. Elizabeth's Hospital.
This was situated in Washington across the Eastern branch of the
Potomac in an unfinished wing of the Insane Retreat.
Her initiation here was a sad, lonely night-watch, by the bed-
side of a dying nurse, who about ten o'clock the following day,
with none but strangers to witness her dying conflicts, passed
from this scene of pain and struggle.
It was about the last of December that she entered here, and
in February she was compelled to relinquish the care of her ward
by a severe and dangerous illness which lasted seven weeks.
Her greatest joy in returning health consisted in her restoration
to the duties in which she had learned to delight.
During this illness Miss Mitchell was constantly attended and
nursed by Miss Jessie Home, a young woman of Scottish birth,
of whom mention is made in another place, a most excellent and
self-sacrificing woman who afterwards lost her life in the cause
of her adopted country.
This kindly care and the assiduous and skilful attentions of
Dr. Stevens, who was the surgeon of the hospital were, as she
gratefully believes, the means of preserving her life.
Miss Mitchell had scarcely recovered from this illness when
she was unexpectedly summoned home to stand by the death-bed
of a beloved mother. After a month's absence, sadly occupied in
this watch of affection, she again returned to Washington, whence

ELLEN E. MITCHELL.
423
she was sent directly to Point Lookout, in Maryland, at the
entrance of the Potomac into Chesapeake Bay, where a hospital
had recently been established.
She remained about two months at Point Lookout, and was
surrounded there with great suffering in all its phases, besides
meeting with peculiar trials, which rendered her stay at this hos-
pital the most unsatisfactory part of her “soldier life.”
Her next station was at the Ware House Hospital, Georgetown,
District of Columbia, where she was employed in the care of the
wounded from the second battle of Bull Run. Most of these
poor men were suffering from broken limbs, had lain several days
uncared for upon the field, and were consequently greatly reduced
in strength. They had besides suffered so much from their
removal in the jolting ambulances, that many of them expressed
a wish that they had been left to die on the field, rather than to
have endured such torment. Miss Mitchell found here a sphere
decidedly fitted to her peculiar powers, for she was always best
pleased to labor in the surgical wards, and would dress and care
for wounds with almost the skill, and more than the tenderness
of a practiced surgeon.
After some time this hospital being very open, became unten-
antable, and in February was closed, and Miss Mitchell was trans-
ferred to Union Hotel Hospital, where five of the nurses being at
that time laid up by illness, her duties became unusually arduous.
Since her former labors here the hospital had been closed,
refitted, and reopened under every way improved auspices. The
“boys” found themselves in every respect so kindly cared for, and
80 surrounded by home-like experience that it was with great
regret they saw the hospital broken up, in March.
Miss Mitchell's inclination would then, as often before, have
led her to the front, but she was forced to obey orders, “soldier-
like," and found herself transferred to Knight Hospital, New
Haven, as the next scene of her labors. Here she remained three
months acti vely and usefully employed, but at the end of that

424
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
time she had become so worn out with her long continued and
arduous services, as to feel compelled to resign her position as
army nurse. She soon after accepted a desirable situation in the
Treasury Department, upon the duties of which she entered in
July, 1863.
Miss Mitchell has never quite reconciled her conscience to this
act, which she fears was too much tinged with selfishness and
induced by interested motives. Feeling thus, she again enlisted
as army nurse after a few months, resolving never again to aban-
don the service, while the war continued and strength was given
her to labor.
This was in the beginning of May, 1864, and she was imme-
diately sent to Fredericksburg to assist in caring for the wounded
from the battle of the Wilderness. The scenes and labors of that
terrible period are beyond description. Miss Mitchell was amidst
them all, and like an angel of mercy made herself everywhere
useful to the crowds of ghastly sufferers from those fields of awful
carnage,
which marked the onward march of Grant to victory,
and the suppression of the rebellion.
When our army left Fredericksburg, most of the wounded
were transferred to Washington, Miss Mitchell would again have
preferred to go to the front, but obeyed orders, and went instead
to Judiciary Square Hospital, Washington, where she found many
of her former patients. After she had spent one day there, she
would not willingly have left those poor men whom she found so
greatly needing a woman's care. For weeks the mortality was
fearful, and she found herself surrounded by the dead and dying,
but gradually this was lessened, and she became engaged in the
more delightful duty of superintending the improvement of con-
valescents, and watching the return to health of many a brave
hero whơ had perhaps sacrificed limbs, and well-nigh life, in the
service of his country. Here she remained, with ever-increasing
satisfaction in her labors, until the final closing of the Hospital
in June, 1865.

ELLEN E. MITCHELL.
425
Here also ended her army services, with the occasion for them.
She had rendered them joyfully, and she resigned them with
regret and sadness at parting with those who had so long been
her charge, and whom she would probably see no more forever.
But in all joy or sadness, in all her life, she will not cease to
remember with delight and gratitude how she was enabled to
minister to the suffering, and thus perform a woman's part in the
great struggle which redeemed our country from slavery, and
made us truly a free people.
Few have done better service, for few have been so peculiarly
adapted to their work. In all she gratefully acknowledges the
aid and sustaining sympathy of her friends in New Milford, Pa.,
and elsewhere, to which she was so greatly indebted for the ability
to minister with comforts to the sufferers under her charge.
As these lines are written some letters from a soldier who was
long under her kind care in Washington, lie upon the writer's table
with their appreciative mention of this excellent woman; which
coming from one who knew and experienced her goodness, may
well be regarded as the highest testimony of it. Here is one brief
extract therefrom.
“As for Miss Mitchell herself—she has a cheerful courage,
faith and patience which take hold of the duties of this place
with a will that grasps the few amenities and pleasures found
here, and works them all up into sunshine; and looks over and
beyond the fatiguing work, and unavoidable brutalities of the
present. Do we not call this happiness? Happiness is not to be
pitied—nor is she!”
In another place he speaks of her unswerving, calm devo-
tion—her entire self-abnegation, as beyond all he has seen of the
like traits elsewhere. And still there were many
devoted women
-perhaps many Ellen Mitchells! Again he compares the
hospital work of Miss Mitchell and her fellow-laborers with that
of the sisters of charity, in whose care he had previously been-
the one human, alert, sympathizing—not loving sin, nor sinful
54

426
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
men, but laboring for them, sacrificing for them, pardoning them
as Christ does—the other working with machine-like accuracy,
but with as little apparent emotion, showing none in fact beyond
a prudish shrinking from these sufferers from the outer world,
of which they know nothing but have only heard of its wicked-
The contrast is powerful, and shows Miss Mitchell and her
friends in fairest colors.
ness.

MISS JESSIE HOME.
335
ESSIE HOME was a native of Scotland. No ties
bound her to this, her adopted land. No relative of
hers, resided upon its soil. She was alone—far from
kindred and the friends of her early youth. But the
country of her adoption had become dear to her. She loved it
with the ardor and earnestness which were a part of her nature,
and she was willing, nay anxious, to devote herself to its service.
At the commencement of the war Miss Home was engaged in
a pleasant and lucrative pursuit, which she abandoned that she
might devote herself to the arduous and ill-paid duties of a hos-
pital nurse.
She entered the service early in the war, and became one of the
corps of Government nurses attached to the hospitals in the
vicinity of Washington. Like others, regularly enlisted, and
under orders from Miss Dix, the Government Superintendent of
nurses, she was transferred from point to point and from hospital
to hospital, as the exigencies of the service required. But she
had only to be known to be appreciated, and her companions, her
patients, and the surgeons under whom she worked, were equally
attached to her, and loud in her praises. She entered into her
work with her whole soul-untiring, faithful, of a buoyant tem-
perament, she possessed a peculiar power of winning the love and
confidence of all with whom she came in contact.
She was quite dependent upon her own resources, and in giving
herself to the cause yielded up a profitable employment and with
it her means of livelihood. Yet she denied herself all luxuries,
427

128
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
everything but the merest necessities, that out of the pittance of
pay received from the Government, out of the forty cents per day
with which her labors were rewarded, she might save something
for the wants of the suffering ones under her care.
And be it remembered always, that in this work it was not
alone the well-born and the wealthy who made sacrifices, and
gave grand gifts. Not from the sacrifice of gauds and frippery
did the humble charities of these hired nurses come, but from the
yielding up of a thousand needed comforts for themselves, and
the forgetfulness of their own wants, in supplying the mightier
wants of the suffering. It is impossible to mention them with
words of praise beyond their merit.
For about two years Miss Home labored thus untiringly and
faithfully, always alert, cheerful, active. During this time she
had drawn to herself hosts of attached friends.
At the end of that period she fell a martyr to her exertions in
the cause to which she had so nobly devoted herself.
When attacked with illness, she must have felt all the horrors
of desolation—for she was without means or home. But Provi-
dence did not desert her in this last dread hour of trial. Miss
Rebecca Bergen of Brooklyn, N. Y., who had learned her worth
by a few months' hospital association, deemed it a privilege to re-
ceive the sufferer at her own home, and to watch over the last hours
of this noble life as it drew to a close, ministering to her suffer-
ings with all the kindness and affection of a sister, and smoothing
her passage to the grave.
Thus, those, who without thought for themselves, devote their
lives and energies to the welfare of others, are often unexpect-
edly cared for in the hour of their own extremity, and find friends
springing up to protect them, and to supply their wants in the
day of their need. Far from kindred and her native land, this
devoted woman thus found friends and kindly care, and the
stranger hands that laid her in an alien grave were warm with the
emotion of loving hearts.

M. VANCE AND M. A. BLACKMAR.
M
ISS MARY VANCE is a Pennsylvanian. Before the
War, she was teaching among the Indians of Kansas
or Nebraska, but it becoming unsafe there, she was
forced to leave. She came to Miss Dix, who sent her to
a Baltimore Hospital, in which she rendered efficient service, as
she afterward did in Washington and Alexandria. In Septem-
ber, 1863, she went to the General Hospital, Gettysburg, where
she was placed in charge of six wards, and no more indefatigable,
faithful and judicious nurse was to be found on those grounds.
She labored on continuously, going from point to point, as our
army progressed towards Richmond, at Fredericksburg, suffering
much from want of strengthening and proper food, but never
inurmuring, doing a vast amount of work, in such a quiet and
unpretending manner, as to attract the attention from the look-
ers-on. Few, but the recipients of her kindness, knew her worth.
At City Point, she was stationed in the Second Corps Hospital,
where she, as usual, won the respect and esteem of the Surgeons
and all connected with her.
Miss Vance labored the whole term of the War, with but three
weeks' furlough, in all that time. A record, that no other woman
can give, and but few soldiers.
Miss Blackmar, one of Michigan's worthy daughters, was one
of the youngest of the band of Hospital nurses. She, for ten
months, labored unceasingly at City Point. More than usually
skilful in wound dressing, she rendered efficient service to her
429

430
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Surgeons, as well as in saving many poor boys much suffering
from the rough handling of inexperienced soldier-nurses. A lad
was brought to her Wards, with a wound in the temple, which,
in the course of time, ate into the artery. This she had feared,
and was always especially careful in watching and attending to
him. But, in her absence, a hemorrhage took place, the nurse
endeavored to staunch the blood, but at last, becoming frightened,
sent for a Surgeon. When she came back to the Ward, there
lay her boy pale and exhausted, life almost gone. But she per-
severed in her efforts, and at last had the satisfaction of witness-
ing his recovery.
At City Point, Miss Vance and Miss Blackmar were tent-mates,
and intimate friends—both noted for their untiring devotion to
their work, their prudent and Christian deportment. As an in-
stance of the wearying effects of the labors of a Hospital nurse,
Mrs. Husband, who was the firm friend, and at City Point,
the associate of these two young ladies, relates the following ;
these two ladies, wearied as usual, retired one very cold night,
Miss Blackmar taking a hot brick with her, for her feet. They
slept the sound sleep of exhaustion for some time, when Miss
Vance struggled into consciousness, with a sensation of smother-
ing, and found that the tent was filled with smoke. After re-
peatedly calling her companion, she was forced to rise and shake
her, telling her that she must be on fire. This at last aroused
Miss Blackmar, who found that the brick had burned through the
cloth in which it was wrapped, the straw-bed and two army blan-
kets. By the application of water, the fire was quenched, and
after airing the tent, they were soon sleeping as soundly as ever.
But, in the morning, Miss Blackmar, to her consternation, found
that her feet and ankles were badly burned, covered with blisters
and very painful, though her sleep had been too sound to feel it
before.

H
A, DADA AND S. E, HALL,
M
ISS HATTIE A. DADA, and Miss Susan E. Hall,
were among the most earnest and persistent workers in
a field which presented so many opportunities for labor
and sacrifice. Both offered themselves to the Women's
Central Association of Relief, New York, immediately on the
formation of that useful organization for any service, or in any
capacity, where their aid could be made available. Both had
formerly been employed by one of the Missionary Societies, in
mission labors among the Indians of the Southwest, and were
eminently fitted for any sphere of usefulness which the existing
condition of our country could present to woman.
They were received by the Association, and requested to join
the class of women who, with similar motives and intentions,
were attending the series of lectures and surgical instructions
which was to prepare them for the duties of nurses in the army
hospitals.
On Sunday, July 21st, 1861, a memorable day, the first battle
of Bull Run took place. On the following day, the 22d, the
disastrous tidings of defeat and rout was received in New York,
and the country was thrilled with pain and horror.
At noon, on Monday, the 22d, Miss Dada and Miss Hall
received instructions to prepare for their journey to the scene of
their future labors, and at six P. M. they took the train for
Washington, with orders to report to Miss Dix. Tuesday morn-
ing found them amidst all the terrible excitement which reigned
431

432
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
in that city. The only question Miss Dix asked, was, “Are you
ready to work ?” and added, “You are needed in Alexandria.”
And toward Alexandria they were shortly proceeding. There
were apprehensions that the enemy might pursue our retreating
troops, of whom they met many as they crossed the Long Bridge,
and passed the fortifications all filled with soldiers watching for
the coming foe who might then so easily have invaded the Fede-
ral City.
In some cabins by the road-side they first saw some wounded
men, to whom they paused to administer words of cheer, and a
“cup of cold water.” They were in great apprehension that the
road might not be safe, and a trip to Richmond, in the capacity
of prisoners was by no means to be desired.
At last they reached Alexandria, and in a dark stone building
on Washington Street, formerly a seminary, found their hospital.
They were denied admittance by the sentinel, but the surgeon in
charge was called, and welcomed them to their new duties.
There they lay, the wounded, some on beds, many on mattresses
spread upon the floor, covered with the blood from their wounds,
and the dust of that burning summer battle-field, many of them
still in their uniforms. The retreat was so unexpected, the
wounded so numerous, and the helpers so few, that all were at
once extremely busy in bringing order and comfort to that scene
of suffering.
Their labors here were exceedingly arduous. No soldiers were
detailed as attendants for the first few weeks, and even the most
menial duties fell upon these ladies. Sometimes a contraband
was assigned them as assistant, but he soon tired of steady em-
ployment and left. They had little sleep and food that was
neither tempting nor sufficient. So busy were they that two
weeks elapsed before Miss Dada, whose letters furnish most of
the material for this sketch, found time to write home, and inform
her anxious friends " where she was."
A busy month passed thus, and then the numbers in the hos-

MISS HATTIE A. DADA AND SUSAN E. HALL.
433
pital began to decrease, many of the convalescent being sent North,
or having furloughs, till only the worst cases remained.
As the winter approached typhus fever began to prevail among
the troops, and many distressing cases, some of which despite all
their efforts proved mortal, came under the care of these ladies.
About the beginning of April, 1862, soon after the battle of
Winchester, and the defeat of Stonewail Jackson by General
Shields, Miss Dada and Miss Hall were ordered thither to care
for the wounded. Here they were transferred from one hospital
to another, without time to become more than vaguely interested
in the individual welfare of their patients. At length at the
third, the Court-House Hospital, they were permitted to remain
for several weeks. Here many interesting cases were found, and
they became much attached to some of the sufferers under their
care, and found great pleasure in their duties.
On the 22d of May they were ordered to Strasburg, and pro-
ceeded thither to the care of several hundred sick, entirely unsus-
picious of personal danger, not dreaming that it could be met
with beside the headquarters of General Banks. But on the fol-
lowing day troops were observed leaving the town on the Front
Royal road, and the same night the memorable retreat was
ordered.
It was indeed a sad sight which met their eyes in the gray
of
early dawn. Ambulances and army wagons filled the streets.
Soldiers from the hospitals, scarcely able to walk, crawled slowly
and painfully along, while the sick were crowded into the over-
filled ambulances.
Pressing forward they arrived at Winchester at noon, but the
ambulances did not arrive till many hours later, with their dis-
mal freight. The fright and suffering had overpowered many,
and
many died as they were carried into the hospitals. A little
later the wounded began to come in, and the faithful, hard-worked
surgeons and nurses had their hands full. The retreating Union
forces came pouring through the town, the rebels in close pursuit.
56

434
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The shouts of the combatants, and the continued firing, created
great confusion. Fear was in every heart, pallor on every cheek,
anxiety in every eye, for they knew not what would be their fate,
but had heard that the wounded had been bayonetted at Front
Royal the previous day. Many dying men, in their fright and
delirium, leaped from their beds, and when laid down soon ceased
to breathe.
Soon the rebels had possession of the town, and the ladies found
themselves prisoners with a rebel guard placed about their hose
pital.
Their supplies were now quite reduced, and it was not until
personal application had been made by the nurses to the rebel
authorities, that suitable food was furnished.
When the army left Winchester, enough men were ordered to
remain to guard the hospitals, and an order was read to all the
inmates, that any of them seen in the streets would be shot.
Miss Dada and her friend remained ai this place until the
months of June and July were passed. In August they were
assigned to Armory Square Hospital, Washington.
Previous to the second battle of Bull Run, all the convalescent
men were sent further North, and empty beds were in readiness
for the wounded, who on the evening after the battle were brought
in, in great numbers, covered with the dust and gore of the field
of conflict. Here the ministering care of these ladies was most
needed. They hastened with basins and sponges, cold water and
clean clothes, and soon the sufferers felt the benefits of cleanliness,
and were laid, as comfortably as their wounds would admit, in
those long rows of white beds that awaited them. All were cheer-
ful, and few regretted the sacrifices they had made. But in a
few days many of these heroes succumbed before the mighty
Conqueror. Their earthly homes they were never to see, but,
one by one, they passed silently to their last home of silence and
peace, where the war of battle and the pain of wounds never dis-
turb. One poor fellow, a Michigan soldier, wounded in the

MISS HATTIE A. DADA AND SUSAN E. HALL.
435
throat, could take no nourishment, nor scarcely breathe. His
sufferings were intense, and his restlessness kept him constantly
in motion as long as the strength for a movement remained. But
at last, he silently turned his face to the wall, and so died. An-
other, a victim of lockjaw, only yielded to the influence of chlo-
roform. Another, whom the surgeons could only reach the
second day, had his arm amputated, but too late. Even while
he believed himself on the road to recovery, bad symptoms had
intervened; and while with grateful voice he was planning how
he would assist Miss Dada as soon as he was well enough, in the
care of other patients, the hand of death was laid upon him, and
he soon passed away.
Such are a few of the heart-rending scenes and incidents through
which these devoted ladies passed.
The month of November found Miss Dada at Harper's Ferry.
Miss Hall had been at Antietam, but the friends had decided to
be no longer separated.
They found that the Medical Director of the Twelfth Army
Corps was just opening a hospital there, and the next day the
sick and wounded from the regimental hospitals were brought in.
They had suffered for lack of care, but though the new hospital
was very scantily furnished, they found that cause of trouble
removed. Many of them had long been ill, and want of clean-
liness and vermin had helped to reduce them to extreme emacia-
tion. Their filthy clothes were replaced by clean ones, and
burned or thrown into the river, their heads shaven, and their
revolting appearance removed. But many a youth whom sick-
ness and suffering had given the appearance of old age, suc-
cumbed to disease and suffering, and joined the long procession
to the tomb.
These were sad days, the men were dying rapidly. One day a
middle-aged woman came in inquiring for her son. Miss Dada
took from her pocket a slip of paper containing the name of one
who had died a day or two previously—it was the name of the

436
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
like her,
son of this mother. She sought the surgeon, and together they
undertook the painful task of conveying to the mother the tidings
that her visit was in vain. Poor mother! How
many,
returned desolate to broken homes, from such a quest !
May and June, 1863, Miss Dada and Miss Hall spent at
Acquia Creek, in care of the wounded from the battle of Chan-
cellorsville, and the 8th of July found them at Gettysburg—Miss
Dada at the hospital of the Twelfth Army Corps, at a little dis-
tance from the town, and Miss Hall at that of the First Army
Corps, which was within the town. The hospital of the Twelfth
Army Corps was at a farm-house. The house and barns were
filled with wounded, and tents were all around, crowded with
sufferers, among whom were many wounded rebel prisoners, wbo
were almost overwhelmed with astonishment and gratitude to find
that northern ladies would extend to them the same care as to the
soldiers of their own army.
The story of Gettysburg, and the tragical days that followed,
has been too often told to need repetition. The history of the
devotion of Northern women to their country's defenders, and of
their sacrifices and labors was illustrated in brightest characters
there. Miss Hall and Miss Dada remained there as long as their
services could be made available.
In December, 1863, they were ordered to Murfreesboro', Ten-
nessee, once a flourishing town, but showing everywhere the
devastations of war. Two Seminaries, and a College, large blocks
of stores, and a hotel, had been taken for hospitals, and were now
filled with sick and wounded men. A year had passed since the
awful battle of Stone River,--the field of which, now a wide
waste lay near the town-but the hospitals had never been
empty.
When they arrived, they reported to the medical director, who
" did not care whether they stayed or not,” but, “if they re-
nained wished them to attend exclusively to the preparation of
the Special Diet.” They received only discouraging words from

MISS HATTIE A. DADA AND SUSAN E. HALL.
437
all they met. They found shelter for the night at the house of a
rebel woman, and were next day assigned-Miss Hall to No. 1
Hospital, Miss Dada to No. 3.
When they reported, the surgeon of No. 1 Hospital, for their
encouragement, informed them that the chaplain thought they
had better not remain. Miss Dada also was coldly received, and
it was evident that the Surgeons and chaplains were very comfor-
table, and desired no outside interference. They believed, how-
ever, that there was a work for them to do, and decided to re-
main.
Miss Dada found in the wards more than one familiar face
from the Twelfth Army Corps, and the glad enthusiasm of her
welcome by the patients, contrasted with the chilling reception
of the officers.
Most of these men had been wounded at Lookout Mountain, a
few days before, but many others had been suffering ever since
the bloody battle of Chickamauga.
Miss Hall was able to commence her work at once, but Miss
Dada was often exhorted to patience, while waiting three long
weeks for a stove, before she could do more than, by the favor
of the head cook of the full diet kitchen, occasionally prepare at
his stove, some small dishes for the worst cases.
Here the winter wore away. Many a sad tale of the desola-
tions of war was poured into their ears, by the suffering Union
women who had lost their husbands, fathers, sons, in the wild
warfare of the country in which they lived. And many a scene
of sorrow and suffering they witnessed.
In January, they had a pleasant call from Dr. M-
of the friends they had known at Gettysburg. This gentleman,
in conversation with the medical director, told him he knew twe
of the ladies there. The reply illustrates the peculiar position
in which they were placed. “Ladies!” he answered with a sneer,
“We have no ladies here! A hospital is no place for a lady.
We have some women here, who are cooks !"
one

438
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
But they remembered that one has said—“The lowest post of
servict, is the highest place of honor," and that Christ had humil-
iated himself to wash the feet of his disciples.
In the latter part of the ensuing May, they went to Chatta-
nooga. They were most kindly received by the surgeons, and
found much to be done. Car-loads of wounded were daily com-
ing from the front, all who could bear removal were sent further
north, and only the worst cases retained at Chattanooga. They
were all in good spirits, browever, and rejoicing at Sherman's suc-
cessful advance-even those upon whom death had set his dark
seal.
Miss Dada often rejoiced, while here, in the kindness of her
friends at home, which enabled her to procure for the sick those
small, but at that place, costly luxuries which their condition
demanded.
As the season advanced to glowing summer, the mortality
became dreadful. In her hospital alone, not a large one, and con-
taining but seven hundred beds, there were two hundred and
sixty-one deaths in the month of June, and there were from five
to twenty daily. These were costly sacrifices, often of the best,
noblest, most promising,—for Miss Dada records—“Daily I see
devoted Christian youths dying on the altar of our country.”
With the beginning of November came busy times, as the cars
daily came laden with their freight of suffering from Atlanta.
On the 26th, Miss Dada records, “One year to-day since Hooker's
men fought above the clouds on Lookout. To-day as I look
upon the grand old mountain the sun shines brightly on the
graves of those who fell there, and all is quiet."
Again, after the gloomy winter had passed, she writes, in
March, 1865, “Many cases of measles are being brought in,
mostly new soldiers, many conscripts, and so down-spirited if they
get sick. It was a strange expression a poor fellow made the
other day, 'You are the God-blessedest woman I ever saw. He
only lived a few days after being brought to the hospital.”

MISS HATTIE A. DADA AND SUSAN E. HALL.
439
Their work of mercy was now well-nigh over, as the necessity
for it seemed nearly ended. Patients were in May being mustered
out of the service, and the hospitals thinning. Miss Dada and
Miss Hall thought they could be spared, and started eastward.
But when in Illinois, word reached them that all the ladies but
one had left, and help was needed, and Miss Dada returned to
Chattanooga. Here she was soon busy, for, though the war was
over, there were still many sick, and death often claimed a
victim.
Miss Dada remained till the middle of September, engaged in
her duties, when, having given more than four years to the service
of her country, she at last took her leave of hospital-life, and re-
turned to home and its peaceful pleasures.
Before leaving she visited the historical places of the vicinity
saw a storm rise over Mission Ridge, and heard the thunders
of heaven's artillery where once a hundred guns belched forth
their fires and swept our brave boys to destruction. She climbed
Lookout, amidst its vail of clouds, and visited "Picket Rock,"
where is the spring at which our troops obtained water the night
after the battle, and the “Point” where, in the early morn, she
Stars and Stripes proclaimed to the watching hosts below, wiat
they were victors.

MRS. SARAH P. EDSON.
MO
RS. EDSON is a native of Fleming, Cayuga County,
New York, where her earlier youth was passed. At
ten years of age she removed with her parents to Ohio,
but after a few years again returned to her native place.
Her father died while she was yet young, and her childhood and
youth were clouded by many sorrows.
Gifted with a warm imagination, and great sensitiveness of feel-
ing, at an early age she learned to express her thoughts in written
words. Her childhood was not a happy one, and she thus found
relief for a thousand woes. At length some of her writings found
their
way
into print.
She spent several years as a teacher, and was married and re-
moved to Pontiac, Michigan, in 1845. During her married life
she resided in several States, but principally in Maysville, Ken -
tucky.
Here she became well known as a writer, but her productions,
both in prose and poetry, were usually written under various
nommes de plume, and met very general acceptance.
She at various times edited journals devoted to temperance and
general literature in the Western States, and became known as
possessing a keenly observing and philosophic mind. This.ex-
perience, perhaps, prepared and eminently fitted her for the service
into which she entered at the breaking out of the war, and ena-
bled her to comprehend and provide for the necessities and emer-
gencies of “the situation."
440

MRS. SARAH P. EDSON.
441
Mrs. Edson arrived in Washington November 1st, 1861 and
commenced service as nurse in Columbia College Hospital. She
remained there serving with great acceptance until early in March
when the army was about to move and a battle was in anticipa-
tion, when by arrangement with the Division Surgeon, Dr.
Palmer, she joined Sumner's Division at Camp California, Vir-
ginia, where she was to remain and follow to render her services
in case the anticipation was verified. The enemy, however, had
stolen away, and “Quaker” guns being the only armament en-
cuuntered, her services were not needed.
She soon after received an appointment from Surgeon-General
Finley to proceed to Winchester, Virginia, to assist in the care of
the wounded from General Banks' army. She found the hos-
pital there in a most deplorable condition. Gangrene was in all
the wards, the filth and foulness of the atmosphere were fearful.
Men were being swept off by scores, and all things were in such
a state as must ever result from inexperience, and perhaps incom-
petence, on the part of those in charge. Appliances and stores
were scanty, and many of the surgeons and persons in charge,
though doing the least that was possible, were totally unfit for
their posts through want of experience and training.
The Union Hotel Hospital was placed in charge of Mrs. Edson,
and the nurses who accompanied her were assigned to duty there.
It was to be thoroughly cleansed and rendered as wholesome as
possible.
The gratitude of the men for their changed condition, in a few
days amply attested the value of the services of herself and asso-
ciates, and demonstrated the fact that women have an important
place in a war like ours.
Mrs. Edson next proceeded to join the army before Yorktown, ,
about the 1st of May, 1862, and was attached to the Hospital of
General Sumner's corps. She arrived the day following the battle
of Williamsburg, and learning that her son was among the
wounded left in a hospital several miles from Yorktown, she at
56

4.12
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
once started on foot to find him. After a walk of twelve miles
she discovered him apparently in a dying state, he and his com-
rades imperatively demanding care. Here she spent four sleep-
less days and nights of terrible anxiety, literally flying from hut
to hut of the rebel-built hospitals, to care for other sick and
wounded men, whenever she could leave her son.
She remained thus till imperative orders were received to break
up this hospital and go to Yorktown. The men were laid in
army wagons and transported over the rough roads from nine in
the morning till six in the evening. Arriving exhausted by their
terrible sufferings, they found no provision made for their recep-
tion. That was a dreadful day, and to an inexperienced eye and
a sympathetic heart the suffering seemed frightful!
The 21st of May, Mrs. Edson went to Fortress Monroe, to care
for her son and others, remaining a week.
From thence she pro-
ceeded to White House and the "front.” Arriving here the
enemy were expected, and it was forbidden to land. At daylight
the only woman on board” was anxiously inquiring if there was
any suffering to relieve. Learning that some wounded had just
been brought in, she left the boat notwithstanding the prohibi-
tion, and found over three hundred bleeding and starved heroes
lying upon the ground. The Sanitary Commission boats had
gone, and no supplies were left but coffee and a little rice. As
she stepped ashore, a soldier with a shattered arm came up to her,
almost timidly, and with white trembling lips asked her if she
could give them something to eat—they had lost everything three
days before, and had been without food since. What an appeal
to the sympathy of a warm heart !
It was feared that no food could be obtained, but after gieat
search a barrel of cans of beef was found. Some camp kettles
were gathered up, and a fire kindled. In the shortest possible
time beef soup and coffee were passing round among these
delighted men. Their gratitude was beyond words. At
four o'clock, that afternoon, the last man was put on board

MRS. SARAH P. EDSON.
443
the ship which was to convey them within reach of supplies and
care.
Mrs. Edson was left alone. One steamer only of the quarter-
master's department remained. The quartermaster had no author-
ity to admit her on board. But in view of the momently expected
arrival of the enemy he told her to go on board and remain,
promising not to interfere with her until she reached Harrison's
Landing. And this was all that could be gained by her who was
so busily working for the soldier—this the alternative of being
left to the tender mercy of the enemy.
She remained at Harrison's Landing until the 12th of August,
and passed through all the terrible and trying scenes that attended
the arrival of the defeated, demoralized, and depressed troops of
McClellan's army. These baffle description. Enough, that hands
and heart were full—full of work, and full of sympathy, with so
much frightful suffering all around her! She was here greatly
aided and sustained by the presence and help of that excellent
nan, Chaplain Arthur B. Fuller, who passed away to his reward
long ere the close of the struggle, into which he had entered with
so true an appreciation and devotion. Again, here as everywhere,
gratitude for kindness, and cheerfulness in suffering marked the
conduct of the poor men under her care.
When the army left she repaired again to Fortress Monroe,
and was on duty there at Hygeia Hospital during the transit of
the army.
She returned to Alexandria the 30th of August, and almost
immediately heard rumors of the fighting going on at the front.
She applied for permission to proceed to the field, but was in-
formed that the army was retreating. The next tidings was of
the second battle of Bull Run, and the other disastrous conflicts
of Pope's campaign. As she could not go to the front to give aid
and comfort to that small but heroic army in its retreat she did
what she could for the relief of any sufferers who came under her
notice, until the news of the conflict at Antietam was received,

444
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
with rumors of its dreadful slaughter. Her heart was fired with
anxiety to proceed thither, but permission was again denied her,
the surgeon-general replying that she was evidently worn out
and must rest for a time. He was right, for on the ensuing day
she was seized with a severe illness which prevented any further
exertion for many weeks.
During the slow hours of convalescence from this illness she
revolved a plan for systematizing the female branch of the relief
service. Her idea was to provide a home for volunteer nurses,
where they could be patiently educated and instructed in the
necessities of the work they were to assume, and where they could
retire for rest when needed, or in the brief intervals of their
labors.
Her first labor on recovery was to proceed to Warrenton with
supplies, but she found the army moving and the sick already on
board the cars. She did what was possible for them under the
circumstances. The trains moved off and she was left to wait
for one that was to convey her back to Alexandria. This, how-
ever, was cut off by the rebels, and she found herself with no
resource but to proceed with the army to Acquia Creek. She
records that she reached Acquia, after several days, and a new
and interesting experience, which was kindness and courtesy from
all with whom she came in contact.
Immediately after her return to Washington, Mrs. Edson
attempted to systematize her plan for a home and training school
for nurses.
A society was formed, and Mrs. Caleb B. Smith at
first (but soon after in consequence of her resignation) Mrs. B. F.
Wade, was appointed President, and Mrs. Edson, Secretary.
Many meetings were held. The attention of commanding and
medical officers was drawn to the plan. Almost unanimously
they expressed approval of it.
Mrs. Edson was the soul of the work, hers was the guiding
brain, the active hand, and as is usual in similar cases most of the
labor fell upon her. She visited the army at Fredericksburg,

MRS. SARAH P. EDSON.
445
and carefully examined the hospitals to ascertain their needs
in this respect. This with other journeys of the same kind oceu-
pied a considerable portion of the winter.
State Relief Societies had been consulted and approved the
plan. Mrs. Edson visited the Sanitary Commission and laid the
plan before them, but while they admitted the necessity of a
hoine and place of rest for nurses, which they soon after estab-
lished, they regarded a training school for them unnecessary,
believing that those who were adapted to their work would best
acquire the needed skill in it in the hospital itself, and that their
imperative lieed of attendants in the hospitals and in the depart-
ments of special and field relief, did not admit of the delay
required to educate nurses for the service.
The surgeon-general, though at first favorably impressed with
the idea, on more mature consideration discouraged it, and with-
held his approval before the Senate Committee, who had a bill
before them for the establishment of such an institution. Thus
thwarted in the prosecution of the plan on which she had set her
heart, Mrs. Edson did not give up in despair, nor did she suffer
her sympathy and zeal in its prosecution to prevent her from
engaging in what she rightly regarded as the paramount work of
every loyal woman who could enter upon it, the care of the sick
and wounded after the great battles. The fearfully disastrous
battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862, called her to the
front, and she was for several weeks at Falmouth caring tenderly
for the wounded heroes there. This good work accomplished she
returned to Washington, and thence visited New York city, and
made earnest endeavors to enlist the aid of the wealthy and
patriotic in this movement. She was familiar with Masonic lite-
rature and with the spirit of Masonry. Her husband had been
an advanced member of the Order, and she had herself taken all
the “Adoptive Degrees. These reasons induced her to seek the
aid of the Order, and she was pleased to find that she met with
much encouragement. The “Army Nurses' Association” was

446
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
cess-
formed in New York, and commenced work under the auspices
of the Masons. In the spring of 1864, when Grant's campaign
commenced with the terrible battles of the Wilderness, Mrs.
Edson hastened to the “front.” Almost immediately the sur-
geons requested her to send for ten of the nurses then receiving
instruction as part of her class at Clinton Hall, New York.
She did so. They were received, transportation found, and
rations and pay granted. And they were found to be valuable
workers, Mrs. Edson receiving from the Surgeons in charge, the
highest testimonials of their usefulness. She had at first men-
tioned it to the Surgeons as an experiment, and said that funds
and nurses would not be wanting if it proved a success. The
day on which the order for the evacuation of Fredericksburg was
issued, she was told that her “experiment was more than a suc-
—it was a triumph.” And this by one of the highest offi
cials of the Medical department.
Eighty more nurses were at once ordered.
The interest taken by the Masons in this movement, led to the
formation of the “Masonic Mission,” with a strong “ Advisory
Board," composed of leading and wealthy Masons.
Mrs. Edson, with unquestioning confidence in the integrity of
Masons, and in the honor of the gentlemen who had given the
movement the great strength of their names, continued ardently
carrying out her plan. More nurses were sent out, and all re-
ceived the promise of support by the “Mission.” Much good-
how much none may say, was performed by these women. They
suffered and labored, and sacrificed much. They gave their best
efforts and cares. Many of them were poor women, unable to
give their time and labor without remuneration. But, alas! the
purposes and promises of the Masonic Mission, were never
fulfilled. Many of the women received no remuneration, and
great suffering and dissatisfaction was the result. The good to
the suffering of the army was perhaps the same.
Amidst all her sori ows and disappointments, Mrs. Edson con-

MRS. SARAH P. EDSON.
447
tinued her labors till the end of the war. Nothing could keep
her from the fulfilment of what she regarded as an imperative
duty, and nobly she achieved her purpose, so far as her indi-
vidual efforts were concerned.
A lady, herself ardently engaged in the work of relief, and
supply fo- t! e soldiers, visited the Army of the Potomac in com-
pany with Mrs. Edson, in the winter of 1865, not long before the
close of the war. She describes the reception of Mrs. Edson,
among these brave men to whom she had ministered during the
terrific campaign of the preceding summer, as a complete ovation.
The enthusiasm was overwhelming to the quiet woman who had
come among them, not looking nor hoping for more than the pri-
vilege of a pleasant greeting from those endeared to her by the
very self-sacrificing efforts by which she had brought them relief,
and perhaps been the means of saving their lives,
Irrepressible shouts, cheers, tears and thanks saluted her on
every side, and she passed on humbled rather than elated by the
excess of this enthusiastic gratitude.

MISS MARIA M. C. HALL.
A
LTHOUGH the Federal City, Washington, was at the
outbreak of the war more intensely Southern in senti-
ment than many of the Southern cities, at least so far
as its native, or long resident inhabitants could make
it so, yet there were even in that Sardis, a few choice spirits,
reared under the shadow of the Capitol, whose patriotism was as
lofty, earnest and enduring as that of any of the citizens of any
Northern or Western state.
Among these, none have given better evidence of their intense
love of their country and its institutions, than Miss Hall. Born
and reared in the Capital, highly educated, and of pleasing
manners and address, she was well fitted to grace any circle, and
to shine amid the gayeties of that fashionable and frivolous city.
But the religion of the compassionate and merciful Jesus had
made a deep lodgment in her heart, and in imitation of his ex-
ample, she was ready to forsake the halls of gayety and fashion,
if she might but minister to the sick, the suffering and the sor-
rowing. Surrounded by Secessionists, her father too far advanced
in years to bear arms for the country he loved, with no brother
old enough to be enrolled among the nation's defenders, her pa-
triotism was as fervid as that of any soldier of the Republic, and
she resolved to consecrate herself to the service of the nation, by
ministrations to the sick and wounded. Her first opportunity
of entering upon this duty was by the reception into her father's
house of one of the sick soldiers before the first battle of Bull
448

MISS MARIA M. C. HALL.
449
Run, who by her kindly care was restored to health. When the
Indiana Hospital was established in the Patent Office building
on the 1st of August, 1861, Miss Hall sought a position there as
nurse; but Miss Dix had already issued her circular announcing
that no nurses under thirty-five years of age would be accepted;
and in vain might she plead her willingness and ability to
undergo hardships and the uncomfortable duties pertaining to the
nurse's position. She therefore applied to the kind-hearted but
eccentric Mrs. Almira Fales, whose hearty and positive ways had
given her the entrée of the Government hospitals from the first,
but she too discouraged her from the effort, assuring her, in her
blunt way, that there was no poetry in this sort of thing, that
the men were very dirty, hungry and rough, and that they would
not appreciate refinement of manner, or be grateful for the atten-
tion bestowed on them by a delicate and educated lady. Finding
that these representations failed to divert Miss Hall, and her
sister who accompanied her, from their purpose, Mrs. Fales threw
open the door of one of the wards, saying as she did so, “Well,
girls, here they are, with everything to be done for them. You
will find work enough.”
There was, indeed, work enough. The men were very dirty,
the “sacred soil” of Virginia clinging to their clothing and per-
sons in plenty. Their hair was matted and tangled, and often,
not free from vermin, and they were as Mrs. Fales had said, a
rough set. But those apparently fragile and delicate girls had
great energy and resolution, and the subject of our sketch was
not disposed to undertake an enterprise and then abandon it.
She had trials of other kinds, to bear. The surgeons afforded
her few or no facilities for her work; and evidently expected that
her whim of nursing would soon be given over.
Then came the
general order for the removal of volunteer nurses from the hos-
pitals; this she evaded by enrolling herself as nurse, and drawing
army pay, which she distributed to the men.
For nearly a year
she remained in this position, without command, with much hard
57

450
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
work to do, and no recognition of it from any official source; but
though the situation was not in any respect agreeable, there was
a consciousness of usefulness, of service of the Master in it to
sustain her; and while under her gentle ministrations cleanliness
took the place of filth, order of disorder, and profanity was ban-
ished, because “the lady did not like it,” it was also her privi-
lege occasionally to lead the wanderer from God back to the
Saviour he had deserted, and to point the sinner to the “Lamb
of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” In the summer
of 1862, Miss Hall joined the Hospital Transport service, first
on the Daniel Webster, No. 2, a steamer which had been used for
the transportation of troops from Washington. After the sick
and wounded of this transport had been disposed of, Miss Hall
was transferred to the Daniel Webster, the original hospital trans-
port of the Sanitary Commission, where she labored faithfully
for some weeks after the change of base to Harrison's Landing,
when she was associated with Mrs. Almira Fales in caring for
the suffering wounded on shore. They found the poor fellows in
a terrible plight, in rotten and leaky tents, and lying on the damp
soil, sodden with the heavy rains, and poisonous from the mala-
rial exhalations, in need of clothing, food, medicine, and comfort;
and though but scantily supplied with the needful stores, these
ladies spared no labor or exertion to improve their condition, and
they were successful to a greater extent than would have seemed
possible. When the army returned to Alexandria, Miss Hall
visited her home for a short interval of rest; but the great battle
of Antietam called her again to her chosen work; she went to
the battle-field, intending to join Mrs. Harris, of the Ladies' Aid
Society of Philadelphia, who was already at work there, and had
telegraphed for her; but being unable to find her at first, she
entered a hospital of wounded Rebel prisoners, and ministered to
them until Mrs. Harris having ascertained her situation, sent for
her to come to Smoketown General Hospital, where at that time
the wounded of French’s Division were gathered, and which

MISS MARIA M. C. HALL.
451
ultimately reozived the wounded of the different corps who were
unable to endure the fatigue of transportation to Washington,
Baltimore or Philadelphia. Dr. Vanderkieft, an accomplished
physician and a man of rare tenderness, amiability and goodness,
was at this time the surgeon of the Smoketown Hospital, and
appreciating Miss Hall's skill and adaptation to her work, he wel-
comed her cordially, and did everything in his power to render
her position pleasant. Mrs. Harris was soon called to other
scenes, and after Fredericksburg, went to Falmouth and remained
there several months, but Miss Hall, and Mrs. Husband who was
now associated with her remained at Smoketown; and when Mrs.
Husband left, Miss Hall still continued till May, 1863, when
the hospital was broken up, and the remaining inmates sent to
other points.*
* The following letter addressed to Miss Hall, by one of the wounded sol-
diers under her care at the Smoketown Hospital, a Frenchman who, while a
great sufferer, kept the whole tent full of wounded men cheerful and bright
with his own cheerfulness, singing the Marseillaise and other patriotic songs, is
but one example of thousands, of the regard felt for her, by the soldiers whose
sufferirgs she had relieved by her gentle and kindly ministrations,
“MANCHESTER, Mass. June 28th, 1866.
“ Miss M. M. C. Hall :--There are kind deeds received which a man cannot
ever forget, more especially when they are done by one who does not expect
any rewards for them, but the satisfaction of having helped humanity.
But as one who first unfortunate, and next fortunate enough to come under
your
I come rather late perhaps to pay you a tribute of gratitude
which should have been done ere this. I say pay,–I do not mean that with
few lines in a broken English, I expect to reward you for your good care of
me while I was lying at Smoketown—no, words or gold could not repay you
for your sufferings, privations, the painful hard sights which the angels of the
battle-field are willing to face,—no, God alone can reward you. Yet, please
accept, Miss, the assurance of my profound respect, and my everlasting grati-
tude. May the God of Justice, Freedom and love, ever protect you, and re-
for your conduct on this earth is the wish of
“Your obedient and respectful servant,
“JULIUS F. RABARDY."
The Frenchman who sometimes sang the Marseillaise-formerly of the 12th
Massachusetts Volunteers.
(6
kind cares,
ward you

452
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
new life.
One feature of this Hospital-life both at Smoketown, and the
other Hospitals with which Miss Hall was connected, a feature to
which many of those under her care revert with great pleasure,
was the evening or family prayers. Those of the convalescent
soldiers who cared to do so were accustomed to assemble every
evening at her tent, and engage in social worship, the chaplain
usually being present and taking the lead of the meeting, and in
the event of his absence, one of the soldiers being the leader.
This evening hour was looked for with eagerness, and to some,
we might say, to many, it was the beginning of new hopes and a
Many, after rejoining their regiments, wrote back to
their friends, “We think of you all at the sweet hour of prayer,
and know that you will remember us when you gather in the lit-
tle tent." The life in the Hospital, was by this and other means,
rendered the vestibule of a new and holy life, a life of faith and
Christian endeavor to many, and this young Christian woman was
enabled to exercise an influence for good which shall endure
through the untold ages of eternity.
After a short period of rest, Miss Hall again reported for duty
at the Naval Academy Hospital, Annapolis, whither considerable
numbers of the wounded from Gettysburg were brought, and
where her old friend Dr. Vanderkieft was the Surgeon-in-charge.
After a time, the exchanged prisoners from Belle Isle and Libby
Prison, and subsequently those from Andersonville, Florence,
Salisbury and Wilmington, began to come into this Hospital, and
it was Miss Hall's painful privilege to be permitted to minister
to these poor victims of Rebel cruelty and hate, who amid the
horrors of the charnel houses, had not only lost their health, but
almost their semblance to humanity, and reduced by starvation
and suffering to a condition of fatuity, often could not remember
their own names. In these scenes of horror, with the patience
and tenderness born only of Christianity, she ministered to these
poor helpless men, striving to bring them back to life, and health,
and reason, comforting them in their sufferings, pointing the dy-

MISS MARIA M. C. HALL.
453
ing to a suffering Saviour, and corresponding with their friends
as circumstances required.
It was at Dr. Vanderkieft's request, that she came to his Hos-
pital, and at first she was placed in charge of Section Five, con-
sisting of the Hospital tents outside of the main building. Mrs.
Adaline Tyler, (Sister Tyler), was at this time lady Superintend-
ent of the entire Hospital, and administered her duties with great
skill and ability. When, in the spring of 1864, as we have else-
where recorded, the impaired health of Mrs. Tyler rendered her
further stay in the Hospital impossible. Miss Hall, though
young, was deemed by Dr. Vanderkieft, most eminently qualified
to succeed her in the general superintendency of this great Hos-
pital, and she remained in charge of it till it was closed in the
summer of 1865. Here she had at times, more than four thou-
sand of these poor sufferers under her care, and although she had
from ten to twenty assistants, each in charge of a section, yet her
own labors were extremely arduous, and her care and responsi-
bility such as few could have sustained. The danger, as well as
the care, was very much increased by the prevalence of typhus-
fever, in a very malignant form in the Hospital, br vught there
by some of the poor victims of rebel barbarity from Anderson-
ville. Three of her most valued assistants contracted this fearful
disease from the patients whom they had so carefully watched
over and died, martyrs to their philanthropy and patriotism.
During her residence at this Hospital, Miss Hall often con-
tributed to “THE CRUTCH,” a soldier's weekly paper, edited by
Miss Titcomb, one of the assistant superintendents, to which the
other ladies, the officers and some of the patients were also con-
tributors. This paper created much interest in the hospital.
Our record of the work of this active and devoted Chris-
tian woman is but brief, for though there were almost num-
berless instances of suffering, of heroism and triumph pass-
ing constantly under her eye, yet the work of one day was so
much like that of every other, that it afforded little of incident

454
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
in her own labors to require a longer narrative. Painful as many
of her experiences were, yet she found as did many others who
engaged in it that it was a blessed and delightful work, and in
the retrospect, more than a year after its close, she uttered these
words in regard to it, words to which the hearts of many other
patriotic women will respond, “I mark my Hospital days as my
happiest ones, and thank God for the way in which He led me
into the good work, and for the strength which kept me through
it all.”

THE HOSPITAL CORPS AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY
HOSPITAL, ANNAPOLIS.
HOUGH the Naval Academy buildings at Annapolis
had been used for hospital purposes, from almost the
first months of the war, they did not acquire celebrity,
or accommodate a very large number of patients until
August, 1863, when Surgeon Vanderkieft took charge of it, and it
received great numbers of the wounded men from Gettysburg.
As the number of these was reduced by deaths, convalescence and
discharge from the army, their places were more than supplied by
the returning prisoners, paroled or discharged, from Libby, Belle
Isle, Andersonville, Millen, Salisbury, Florence and Wilmington.
These poor fellows under the horrible cruelties, systematically
practiced by the rebel authorities, with the avowed intention of
weakening the Union forces, had been starved, frozen, maimed
and tortured until they had almost lost the semblance of human-
ity, and one of the noble women who cared for them so tenderly,
states that she often found herself involuntarily placing her hand
apon her cheek to ascertain whether their flesh was like hers,
human and vitalized. The sunken hollow cheeks, the parchment
skin drawn so tightly over the bones, the great, cavernous, lack-
luster eyes, the half idiotic stare, the dreamy condition, the loss
memory even of their own names, and the wonder with which
they regarded the most ordinary events, so strange to them after
their long and fearful experience, all made them seem more like
beings from some other world, than inhabitants of this. Many
of
455

456
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of them never recovered fully their memory or reason; the iron
had entered the soul. Others lingered long on the confines of two
worlds, now rallying a little and then falling back, till finally the
flickering life went out suddenly; a few of the hardiest and
toughest survived, and recovered partial though seldom or never
complete health. During a part of the first year of Dr. Van-
derkieft's administration, Mrs. Adaline Tyler (“Sister Tyler')
was Lady Superintendent of the hospital, and the sketch else-
where given of her life shows how earnestly and ably she
labored to promote the interest of its inmates. During most of
this time Miss Maria M. C. Hall had charge of section five, con-
sisting of the hospital tents which occupied a part of the academ-
ical campus. Miss Helen M. Noye, a young lady from Buffalo,
a very faithful, enthusiastic and cheerful worker, was her assis-
tant, and remained for nearly a year in the hospitel.
When in the spring of 1864, Miss Hall was appointed Mrs.
Tyler's successor as Lady Superintendent of the hospital, its
numerous large wards required several assistant superintendents
who should direct the preparation of the special diet, and the other
delicacies so desirable for the sick, attend to the condition of the
men, ascertain their circumstances and history, correspond with
their friends, and endeavor so far as possible to cheer, comfort and
encourage their patients.
When the number of patients was largest twenty of these
assistants were required, and the illness of some, or their change
to other fields, rendered the list a varying one, over thirty different
ladies being connected with the hospital during the two years from
July, 1863, to July, 1865.
A considerable number of these ladies had accompanied Mrs.
Tyler to Annapolis, having previously been her assistants in the
general hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania. Among these were
nine from Maine, viz., Miss Louise Titcomb, Miss Susan Newhall,
Miss Rebecca R. Usher, Miss Almira Quimby, Miss Emily W.
Dana, Miss Adeline Walker, Miss Mary E. Dupee, Miss Mary

HOSPITAL CORPS AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY, ANNAPOLIS. 457
Pierson, and Mrs. Eunice D. Merrill, all women of excellent abil-
ities and culture, and admirably adapted to their work. One of
this band of sisters, Miss Adeline Walker, died on the 28th of
April, 1865, of malignant typhus, contracted in the discharge of
her duties in the hospital.
Of her Miss Hall wrote in the Crutch, “She slept at sunset,
sinking into the stillness of death as peacefully as a melted day
into the darkness of the night. For two years and a half—longer
than almost any other here—she had pursued her labors in this hos-
pital, and with her ready sympathy with the suffering or wronged,
had ministered to many needy ones the balm of comfort and
healing. Her quick wit and keen repartee has served to brighten
up many an hour otherwise dull and unhomelike in our little
circle of workers, gathered in our quarters off duty.
“So long an inmate of this hospital its every part was familiar
to her; its trees and flowers she loved; in all its beauties she
rejoiced. We could almost fancy a hush in nature's music, as we
walked behind her coffin, under the beautiful trees in the bright
May sunshine.
“It was a touching thing to see the soldier-boys carrying the
coffin of her who had been to them in hours of pain a minister
of good and comfort. Her loss is keenly felt among them, and
tears are on the face of more than one strong man as he speaks
of her. One more veteran soldier has fallen in the ranks, one
more faithful patriot-heart is stilled. No less to her than to the
soldier in the field shall be awarded the heroic honor.
For God metes to each his measure;
And the woman's patient prayer,
No less than ball or bayonet
Brings the victory unaware.'
Patient prayer and work for the victory to our country was the
life of our sister gone from us; and in the dawning of our brighter
days, and the coming glory of our regenerated country, it is hard
to lay her away in unconsciousness; hard to close her eyes against
58

458
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the bright sunshine of God's smile upon a ransomed people; hard
to send her lifeless form away from us, alone to the grave in her
far off home; hard to realize that one so familiar in our little
band shall go no more in and out among us. But we say fare-
well to her not without hope. Her earnest spirit, ever eager in
its questioning of what is truth, was not at rest with simply
earthly things. Her reason was unsatisfied, and she longed for
more than was revealed to her of the Divine. To the land of
full realities she is gone. We trust that in his light she shall see
light; that waking in his likeness, she shall be satisfied, and ever-
more at rest. We cannot mourn that she fell at her post. Her
warfare is accomplished, and the oft-expressed thought of her
heart is in her death fulfilled. She has said, 'It is noble to die
at one's post, with the armor on; to fall where the work has been
done."
One of her associates from her own State thus speaks of her:
"Miss Walker left many friends and a comfortable home in Port-
land, in the second year of the war. Her devotion and interest
in the work so congenial to her feelings, increased with every
year's experience, until she found herself bound to it heart and
hand. Her large comprehension, too, of all the circumstances
connected with the soldier's experience in and outside of hospital,
quickened her sympathies and adapted her to the part she was to
share, as counsellor and friend. Many a soldier lives, who can
pay
her a worthy tribute of gratitude for her care and sympathy
in his hour of need; and in the beyond, of the thousands who
died in the cause of liberty, there are many who may call her
"blessed.""
Massachusetts was also largely represented among the faithful
workers of the Naval Academy Hospital, at Annapolis. Among
these Miss Abbie J. Howe, of Brookfield; Miss Kate P. Thomp-
son, of Worcester, whose excessive labors and the serious illness
which followed, have probably rendered her an invalid for life;
Miss Eudora Clark, of Boston, Miss Ruth L. Ellis, of Bridge-

ROSPITAL CORPS AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY, ANNAPOLIS. 455
water, Miss Sarah Allen, of Wilbraham, Miss Agnes Gillis, of
Lowell, and Miss Maria Josslyn, of Roxbury, were those who
were most laborious and faithful. From New Jersey there came
a faithful and zealous worker, Miss Charlotte Ford, of Morris-
town. From New York there were Miss Helen M. Noye, of
Buffalo, already named, Mrs. Guest, also of Buffalo, Miss Emily
Gove, of Peru, Miss Mary Cary, of Albany, Miss Ella Wolcott,
of Elmira, and Miss M. A. B. Young, of Morristown, New York.
This lady, one of the most devoted and faithful of the hospital
nurses, was also a martyr to her fidelity and patriotism, dying of
typhus fever contracted in her attendance upon her patients, on
the 12th of January, 1865.
Miss Young left a pleasant home in St. Lawrence County,
New York, soon after the commencement of the war, with her
brother, Captain James Young, of the Sixtieth New York Vol-
unteers, and was an active minister of good to the sick and
wounded of that regiment. She took great pride in the regiment,
wearing its badge and having full faith in its valor. When the
Sixtieth went into active service, she entered a hospital at Balti-
more, but her regiment was never forgotten. She heard from it
almost daily through her soldier-brother, between whom and
herself existed the most tender devotion and earnest sympathy.
From Baltimore she was transferred to Annapolis early in Mrs.
Tyler's administration. In 1864, she suffered from the small-
pox, and ever after her recovery she cared for all who were affected
with that disease in the hospital.
Her thorough identity with the soldier's life and entire sacrifice
to the cause, was perhaps most fully and touchingly evidenced by
her oft repeated expression of a desire to be buried among the
soldiers. When in usual health, visiting the graves of those to
whom she had ministered in the hospital, she said, “If I die in
hospital, let me buried here among my boys.” This request was
sacredly regarded, and she was borne to her last resting-place by
soldiers to whom she had ministered in her own days of health.

460
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Another of the martyrs in this service of philanthropy, was
Miss Ruse M. Billing, of Washington, District of Columbia, å
young lady of most winning manners, and spoken of by Miss
Hall as one of the most devoted and conscientious workers, she
ever knew—an earnest Christian, caring always for the spiritual
as well as the physical wants of her men. She was of delicate,
fragile constitution, and a deeply sympathizing nature. From
the commencement of the war, she had been earnestly desirous of
participating in the personal labors of the hospital, and finally
persuaded her mother, (who, knowing her frail health, was reluc-
tant to have her enter upon such duties), to give her consent.
She commenced her first service with Miss Hall, in the Indiana
Hospital, in the Patent Office building, in the autumn of 1861,
and subsequently served in the Falls Church Hospital, and at
Fredericksburg. Early in 1863 she came to Annapolis, and no
one of the nurses was more faithful and devoted in labors for the
soldiers. Twice she had been obliged to leave her chosen work
for a short time in consequence of illness, but she had hastened
back to it with the utmost alacrity, as soon as she could again
undertake her work. She had been eminently successful, in
bringing up some cases of the fever, deemed by the surgeons,
hopeless, and though she herself felt that she was exceeding her
strength, or as she expressed it, “wearing out,” she could not and
would not leave her soldier boys while they were so ill; and
when the disease fastened upon her, she had not sufficient vital
energy left to throw it off. She failed rapidly and died on the
14th of January, 1865, after two weeks' illness. Her mother,
after her death, received numerous letters from soldiers for whom
she had cared, lamenting her loss and declaring that but for her
faithful attentions, they should not have been in the land of the
living. Among those who have given their life to the cause of
their country in the hospitals, no purer or saintlier soul has ex-
changed the sorrows, the troubles and the pains of earth for the
bliss of heaven, than Rose M. Billing.

OTHER LABORS OF SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE
ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL CORPS.
S
OME of the ladies named in the preceding sketch had
passed through other experiences of hospital life, before
becoming connected with the Naval Academy Hospital
at Annapolis. Among these, remarkable for their fi-
delity to we cause they had undertaken to serve, were several of
the ladie: from Maine, the Maine-stay of the Annapolis Hospital,
as Dr. Vinterkieft playfully called them. We propose to devote
a little space to sketches of some of these faithful workers.
Miss Louise Titcomb, was from Portland, Maine, a young
lady of high culture and refinement, and from the beginning of
the War, had taken a deep interest in working for the soldiers,
in connection with the other patriotic ladies of that city. When
in the early autumn of 1862, Mrs. Adaline Tyler, as we have al-
ready said in our sketch of her, took charge as Lady Superin-
tendent of the Hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania, which had
previously been in the care of a Committee of ladies of the vil-
lage, she sought for volunteer assistants in her work, who would
give themselves wholly to it.
Miss Titcomb, Miss Susan Newhall, and Miss Rebecca R.
Usher, all from Portland, were among the first to enter upon this
work. They remained there eight months, until the remaining
patients had become convalescent, and the war had made such
progress Southward that the post was too far from the field to be
maintained as a general hospital.
461

462
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR,
The duties of these ladies at Chester, were the dispensing of
the extra and low diet to the patients; the charge of their cloth-
ing; watching with, and attending personally to the wants of
those patients whose condition was most critical; writing for and
reading to such of the sick or wounded as needed or desired these
services, and attending to innumerable details for their cheer and
comfort. Dr. Le Comte, the Surgeon-in-charge, and the assist-
ant Surgeons of the wards, were very kind, considerate and cour-
teous to these ladies, and showed by their conduct how highly
they appreciated their services.
In August, 1863, when Mrs. Tyler was transferred to the Naval
Academy Hospital at Annapolis, these ladies went thither with
her, where they were joined soon after by Miss Adeline Walker,
Miss Almira F. Quimby, and Miss Mary Pierson, all of
Portland, and Miss Mary E. Dupee, Miss Emily W. Dana, and
Mrs. Eunice D. Merrill, all from Maine. Their duties here were
more varied and fatiguing than at Chester. One of them de-
scribes them thus: “ The Hospital was often crowded with pa-
cients enduring the worst forms of disease and suffering; and
added to our former duties were new and untried ones incident
to the terrible and helpless condition of these returned prisoners.
Evening Schools were instituted for the benefit of the convales-
cents, in which we shared as teachers; at the Weekly Lyceum,
through the winter, the ladies in turn edited and read a paper,
containing interesting contributions from inmates of the Hospital;
they devised and took part in various entertainments for the
benefit of the convalescents; held singing and prayer-meetings
frequently in the wards; watched over the dying, were presen
at all the funerals, and aided largely in forwarding the effects, and
where it was possible the bodies of the deceased to their friends.
Five of these faithful nurses were attacked by the typhus fever,
contracted by their attention to the patients, exhausted as they
were by overwork, from the great number of the very sick and
helpless men brought to the hospital in the winter of 1864–5;

OTHER LABORS OF THE ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL CORPS, 463
and the illness of these thiew a double duty upon those who were
fortunate enough to escape the epidemic. To the honor of these
ladies, it should be said that not one of them shrank from doing
her full proportion of the work, and nearly all who survived, re-
mained to the close of the war. For twenty months, Miss Tit-
comb was absent from duty but two days, and others had a record
nearly as satisfactory. Nearly all would have done so but for
illness.
Miss Rebecca Usher, of whom we have spoken as one of
Miss Titcomb's associates, in the winter of 1864–5, accepted the
invitation of the Maine Camp and Hospital Association, to go to
City Point, and minister to the sick and wonnded, especially of
the Maine regiments there. She was accompanied by Miss Mary
A. Dupee, who was one of the assistants at Annapolis, from Maine.
The Maine Camp and Hospital Association, was an organiza-
tion founded by benevolent ladies of Portland, and subsequently
having its auxiliaries in all parts of the state, having for its
object the supplying of needful aid and comfort, and personal
attention, primarily to the soldiers of Maine, and secondarily to
those from other states. Mrs. James E. Fernald, Mrs. J. S.
Eaton, Mrs. Elbridge Bacon, Mrs. William Preble, Miss Harriet
Fox, and others were the managers of the association. Of these
Mrs. J. S. Eaton, the widow of a Baptist clergyman, formerly a
pastor in Portland, went very early to the front, with Mrs. Isa-
bella Fogg, the active agent of the association, of whom we have
more to say elsewhere, and the two labored most earnestly for the
welfare of the soldiers. Mrs. Fogg finally went to the Western
armies, and Mrs. Eaton invited Miss Usher and Miss Dupee,
with some of the other Maine ladies to join her at City Point, in
the winter of 1864-5. Mrs. Ruth S. Mayhew had been a faith-
ful assistant at City Point from the first, and after Mrs. Fogg
went to the West, had acted as agent of the association there.
Miss Usher joined Mrs. Eaton and Mrs. Mayhew, in December,
1864, but Miss Dupee did not leave Annapolis till April, 1865.

464
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The work at City Point was essentially different from that at
Annapolis, and less saddening in its character. The sick soldiers
from Maine were visited in the hospital and supplied with deli-
cacies, and those who though in health were in need of extra
clothing, etc., were supplied as they presented themselves. The
Maine Camp and Hospital Association were always ready to
respond to a call for supplies from their agents, and there was
never any lack for any length of time. In May, 1865, Mrs.
Eaton and her assistants established an agency at Alexandria,
and they carried their supplies to the regiments encamped around
that city, and visited the comparatively few sick remaining in
the hospitals. The last of June their work seemed to be com-
pleted and they returned home.
Miss Mary A. Dupee was devoted to the cause from the begin-
ning of the war. She offered her services when the first regiment
left Portland, and though they were not then needed, she held
herself in constant readiness to go where they were, working
meantime for the soldiers as opportunity presented. When Mrs.
Tyler was transferred to Annapolis, she desired Miss Susan New-
hall, a most faithful and indefatigable worker for the soldiers,
who had been with her at Chester, to bring with her another who
was like-minded. The invitation was given to Miss Dupee, who
gladly accepted it. At Annapolis she had charge of thirteen
wards and had a serving-room, where the food was sent ready
cooked, for her to distribute according to the directions of the
surgeons to “her boys.” Before breakfast she went out to see
that that meal was properly served, and to ascertain the condition
of the sickest patients. Then forenoon and afternoon, she visited
each one in turn, ministering to their comfort as far as possible. The
work, though wearing, and at times accompanied with some dan-
ger of contagion, she found pleasant, notwithstanding its connec-
tion with so many sad scenes. The consciousness of doing good
more than compensated for any toil or sacrifice, and in the re-
view of her work, Miss Dupee expresses the belief that she derived

OTHER LABORS OF THE ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL CORPS. 465
as much benefit from this philanthropic toil as she bestowed. As
we have already said, she was for three months at City Point and
elsewhere ministering to the soldiers of her native State.
Miss Abbie J. Howe, of Brookfield, Massachusetts, was an-
other of the Annapolis Hospital Corps deserving of especial
mention for her untiring devotion to the temporal and spiritual
welfare of the sick and wounded who were under her charge.
We regret our inability to obtain so full an account of her work
and its incidents as we desired, but we cannot suffer her to pass
unnoticed. Miss Howe had from the beginning of the war been
earnestly desirous to enter upon the work of personal service to
the soldiers in the hospitals, but considerations of duty, the oppo-
sition of her friends, etc., had detained her at home until the
way was unexpectedly opened for her in September, 1863. She
came directly to Annapolis, and during her whole stay there had
charge of the same wards which she first entered, although a
change was made in the class of patients under her care in the
spring of 1864. At first these wards were filled with private
soldiers, but in April, 1864, they were occupied by the wounded
and sick officers of the Officers' Hospital at that time established
in the Naval Academy under charge of Surgeon Vanderkieft.
Miss Howe brought to her work not only extraordinary skill
and tact in the performance of her duties, but a deep personal
interest in her patients, a care and thoughtfulness for what might
be best adapted to each individual case, as if each had been her
own brother, and beyond this, an intense desire to promote their
spiritual good. An earnest and devoted Christian, whose highest
motive of action was the desire to do something for the honor
and glory of the Master she loved, she entered upon her duties
in such a spirit as we may imagine actuated the saints and mar-
tyrs of the early Christian centuries.
We cannot forbear introducing here a brief description of her
work from one who knew her well:-“She came to Annapolis
with a spirit ready and eager to do all things and suffer all things
59

466
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
*
*
for the privilege of being allowed to work for the good of the
soldiers. Nothing was too trivial for her to be engaged in for
their sakes,—nothing was too great to undertake for the least
advantage to one of her smallest and humblest patients. This
was true of her regard to their bodily comfort and health—but
still more true of her concern for their spiritual good. I remem-
ber
very
well that when she had been at work only a day or two
she spoke to me with real joy of one of her sick patients, telling
me of a hope she had that he was a Christian and prepared for
death.
She loved the soldiers for the cause for which
they suffered—but she loved them most, because she was actuated
in all things by her love for her Saviour, and for them He had
died.
I used to feel that her presence and influence,
even if she had not been strong enough to work at all, would
have been invaluable—the soldiers so instinctively recognized her
true interest in them,-her regard for the right and her abhorrence
of anything like deceit or untruthfulness, that they could not help
trying to be good for her sake.”
Miss Howe took a special interest in the soldier-nurses—the
men detailed for extra duty in the wards. She had a very high
opinion of their tenderness and faithfulness in their most trying
and wearying work, and of their devotion to their suffering com-
rades. This estimate was undoubtedly true of most of those in
her wards, and perhaps of a majority of those in the Naval Acad-
emy Hospital; but it would have been difficult for them to have
been other than faithful and tender under the influence of her
example and the loyalty they could not help feeling to a woman
“so nobly good and true." Like all the others engaged in these
labors among the returned prisoners, Miss Howe speaks of her
work as one which brought its own abundant reward, in the in-
expressible joy she experienced in being able to do something to
relieve and comfort those poor suffering ones, wounded, bleeding,
and tortured for their country's sake, and at times to have the
privilege of telling the story of the cross to eager dying men,
who
listened in their agony longing to know a Saviour's love.

MRS A. H. AND MISS S. H. GIBBONS,
M
RS. GIBBONS is very well known in the City of New
York where she resides, as an active philanthropist,
devoting a large portion of her time and strength to
the various charitable and reformatory enterprises in
which she is engaged. This tendency to labors undertaken for
the good of others, is, in part, a portion of her inheritance. The
daughter of that good man, some years ago deceased, whose
memory is so heartily cherished, by all to whom the record of a
thousand brave and kindly deeds is known, so warmly by a mul-
titude of friends, and by the oppressed and suffering—Isaac T.
Hopper—we are justified in saying that his mantle has fallen upon
this his favorite child.
The daughter of the noble and steadfast old Friend, could
hardly fail to be known as a friend of the slave. Like her father
she was ready to labor, and sacrifice and suffer in his cause, and
had already made this apparent, had borne persecution, the
crucial test of principle, before the war which gave to the world
the prominent idea of freedom for all, and thus wiped the darkest
stain from our starry banner, was inaugurated.
The record of the army work of Mrs. Gibbons, does not com-
mence until the autumn of 1861. Previous to that time, her
labors for the soldier had been performed at home, where there
was much to be done in organizing a class of effort hitherto un-
known to the women of our country. But she had always felt a
strong desire to aid the soldiers by personal sacrifices.
467

468
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
It was quite possible for her to leave home, which so many
mothers of families, whatever their wishes, were unable to do.
Accordingly, accompanied by her eldest daughter, Miss Sarah H.
Gibbons, now Mrs. Emerson, she proceeded to Washington, about
the time indicated.
There, for some weeks, mother and daughter regularly visited
the hospitals, of which there were already many in the Capitol
City, ministering to the inmates, and distributing the stores with
which they were liberally provided by the kindness of friends,
from their own private resources, and from those of “The Wo-
man's Central Association of Relief,” already in active and benefi-
cent operation in New York.
Their work was, however, principally done in the Patent
Office Hospital, where they took a regular charge of a certain
number of patients, and rendered excellent service, where service
was, at that time, greatly needed.
While thus engaged they were one day invited by a friend
from New York to take a drive in the outskirts of the city.
Washington was at that time like a great camp, and was envi-
roned by fortifications, with the camps of different divisions,
brigades, regiments, to each of which were attached the larger
ind smaller hospitals, where the sick and suffering languished,
afar from the comforts and affectionate cares of home, and not yet
inured to the privations and discomforts of army life. It can
without doubt be said that they were patient, and when we
remember that the most of them were volunteers, fresh from
home, and new to war, that perhaps was all that could reason-
ably be expected of them.
The drive of Mrs. Gibbons, and her friends extended further
than was at first intended, and they found themselves at Fall's
Church, fifteen miles from the city. Here was a small force of
New York troops, and their hospital containing about forty men,
most of them very sick with typhoid fever.
Mrs. Gibbons and her daughter entered the hospital. All

MRS. A. H. GIBBONS AND MISS SARAH H. GIBBONS.
469
It was very
around were the emaciated forms, and pale, suffering faces of the
men--their very looks an appeal for kindness which it was hardly
possible for these ladies to resist.
One of them, a young man from Penn Yan, New York, fixed
his sad imploring gaze upon the face of Mrs. Gibbons. Pale as
if the seal of death had already been set upon his features, dread-
fully emaciated, and too feeble for the least movement, except
those of the large, dark, restless eyes, which seemed by the very
intensity of their expression to draw her toward him. She
approached and compassionately asked if there was anything she
could do for him. The reply seemed to throw upon
her a respon-
sibility too heavy to be borne.
“Come and take care of me, and I shall get well. If you do
not come, I shall die.”
hard to
say
she could not come, and with the con-
stantly recurring thought of his words, every moment made it
harder. It was, however, impossible at that time.
After distributing some little offerings they had brought, the
party was forced to leave, carrying with them a memory of such
suffering and misery as they had not before encountered. Fall's
Church was situated in a nest of secessionists, who would have
been open rebels except for the presence of the troops. No
woman had ever shown her face within the walls of its hospital.
The routine of duty had probably been obeyed, but there had
been little sympathy and only the blundering care of men, en-
tirely ignorant of the needs of the sick. The men were dying
rapidly, and the number in the hospital fast diminishing, not by
convalescence, but by death.
After she had gone away, the scene constantly recurred to Mrs.
Gibbons, and she felt that a field of duty opened before her, which
she had no right to reject. In a few days an opportunity for
another visit occurred, which was gladly embraced. The young
volunteer was yet living, but too feeble to speak. Again his eyes
mutely implored help, and seemed to say that only that could

470
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
beat back the advances of death. This time both ladies had come
with the intention of remaining.
The surgeon was ready to welcome them, but told them there
was no place for them to live. But that difficulty was overcome,
as difficulties almost always are by a determined will. The pro-
prietor of a neighboring “saloon,” or eating-house, was persuaded
to give the ladies a loft floored with unplaned boards, and boast-
ing for its sole furniture, a bedstead and a barrel to serve as table
and toilet. Here for the sum of five dollars per week, each, they
were allowed to sleep, and they took their meals below.
There were at the date of their arrival thirty-nine sick men in
the hospital, and six lay unburied in the dead-house. Two or
three others died, and when they left, five or six weeks afterward,
all had recovered, sufficiently at least to bear removal, save three
whom they left convalescing. The young volunteer who had
fastened his hope of life on their coming, had been able to be
removed to his home, at Penn Yan, and they afterwards learned
that he had entirely recovered his health.
Under their reign, cleanliness, order, quiet, and comfortable food,
had taken the place of the discomfort that previously existed.
The sick were encouraged by sympathy, and stimulated by it,
and though they had persisted in their effort through great hard-
ship, and even danger, for they were very near the enemy's lines,
they felt themselves fully rewarded for all their toils and sacri-
fices.
During the month of January, their patients having nearly all
recovered, Mrs. and Miss Gibbons, cheerfully obeyed a request to
proceed to Winchester, and take their places in the Seminary
Hospital there. This hospital was at that time devoted to the
worst cases of wounded.
There were a large number of these in this place, most of
them severely wounded, as has been said, and many of them
dangerously so. The closest and most assiduous care was de-
manded, and the ladies found themselves at once in a position to

MRS. A. H. GIBBONS AND MISS SARAH H. GIBBONS.
471
tax all their strength and efforts. They were in this hospital
over four months, and afterwards at Strasburg, where they were
involved in the famous retreat from that place, when the enemy
took possession, and held the hospital nurses, even, as prisoners,
till the main body of their army was safely on the road that led
to Dixie.
Many instances of that retreat are of historical interest, but
space forbids their repetition here. It is enough to state that
these ladies heroically bore the discomfort of their position, and
their own losses in stores and clothing, regretting only that it was
out of their power to secure the comforts of the wounded, who
were hurried from their quarters, jolted in ambulances in torture,
or compelled to drag their feeble limbs along the encumbered
road.
After the retreat, and the subsequent abandonment of the Val-
ley by the enemy, Mrs. Gibbons and her daughter returned for a
short time to their home in New York.
Their rest, however, was not long, for on the 19th of July,
they arrived at Point Lookout, Maryland, where Hammond
United States General Hospital was about to be opened.
On the 20th, the day following, the first installment of patients
arrived, two hundred and eighteen suffering and famished men
from the rebel prison of Belle Isle.
A fearful scene was presented on the arrival of these men.
The transport on which they came was full of miserable-look-
ing wretches, lying about the decks, many of them too feeble
to walk, and unable to move without help. Not one of the two
hundred and eighty, possessed more than one garment. Before
leaving Belle Isle, they had been permitted to bathe. The filthy,
vermin-infected garments, which had been their sole covering for
many months, were in most cases thrown into the water, and the
men had clothed themselves as best they could, in the scanty
supply given them. Many were wrapped in sheets. A pair of
trowsers was a luxury to which few attained.

472
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
They were mostly so feeble as to be carried on stretchers to
the hospital. Mrs. Gibbons' first duty was to go on board the
transport with food, wine and stimulants, to enable them to
endure the removal; and when once removed, and placed in their
clean beds, or wards, there was sufficient employment in reducing
all to order, and nursing them back to health. Many were hope-
lessly broken down by their past sufferings, but most eventually
recovered their strength.
Mrs. and Miss Gibbons remained at Point Lookout fifteen
months. After a short time Mrs. Gibbons finding her usefulness
greatly impaired by being obliged to act under the authority of
Miss Dix, who was officially at the head of all nurses, applied for,
and received from Surgeon-General Hammond an independent
appointment in this hospital, which gave her sole charge of it,
apart from the medical supervision. In this appointment the
Surgeon-General was sustained by the War Department. In her
application Mrs. Gibbons was influenced by no antagonism to
Miss Dix, but simply by her desire for the utmost usefulness.
The military post of Point Lookout was at that time occupied
by two Maryland Regiments, of whom Colonel Rogers had the
command. If not in sympathy with rebellion, they undoubtedly
were with slavery. Large numbers of contrabands had flocked
thither, hoping to be protected in their longings for freedom.
In this, however, they were disappointed. As soon as the Mary-
land masters demanded the return of their absconding property,
the Maryland soldiers were not only willing to accede to the
demand, but to aid in enforcing it.
Mrs. Gibbons found herself in a continual unpleasant conflict
with the authorities. Sympathy, feeling, sense of justice, the
principles of a life, were all on the side of the enslaved, and their
attempt to escape. She worked for them, helped them to evade
the demands of their former masters, and often sent them on their
way toward the goal of their hopes and efforts, the mysterious
North.

MRS. A. H GIBBONS AND MISS SARAH H. GIBBONS.
473
She endured persecution, received annoyances, anonymous
threats, and had much to bear, which was borne cheerfully for
the sake of these oppressed ones.
General Lockwood, then com-
mander of the post, was always the friend of herself and her pro-
tegés, a man of great kindness of heart, and a lover of justice.
As has been said, they remained at Point Lookout fifteen
months. The summer following her introduction to the place,
Mrs. Gibbons visited home, and after remaining but a short time
returned to her duties. She had left all at home tranquil and
serene, and did not dream of the hidden fires which were even
then smouldering, and ready to burst into flame.
She had not long returned before rumors of the riots in New
York, the riots of July, 1863, reached Point Lookout.
“If private houses are attacked, ours will be one of the first,"
said Miss Gibbons, on the reception of these tidings, and though
her mother would not listen to the suggestion, she very well
knew it was far from impossible.
That night they retired full of apprehension, and had not
fallen asleep when some one knocked at their door with the inti-
mation that bad news had arrived for them. They asked if any
one was dead, and on being assured that there was not, listened
with comparative composure when they learned that their house
in New York had been sacked by the mob, and most of its con-
tents destroyed.
The remainder of the night was spent in packing, and in the
morning they started for home.
It was a sad scene that presented itself on their arrival. There
was not an unbroken pane of glass in any of the windows. The
panels of the doors were many of them beaten in as with an axe.
The furniture was mostly destroyed, bureaus, desks, closets,
receptacles of all kinds had been broken open, and their contents
stolen or rendered worthless; the carpets, soaked with a trampled
conglomerate of mud and water, oil and filth, the debris left by
the feet of the maddened, howling crowd, were entirely ruined;
3
60

174
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
beds and bedding, mirrors, and smaller articles had been carried
away, the grand piano had had a fire kindled on the key-board,
as had the sofas and chairs upon their velvet seats, fires that
were, none knew how, extinguished.
Over all were scattered torn books and valuable papers, the
correspondence with the great minds of the country for years,
trampled into the grease and filth, half burned and defaced.
The relics of the precious only son, who had died a few years
before--the beautiful memorial room, filled with pictures he had
loved, beautiful vases, where flowers always bloomed; and a
thousand tokens of the loved and lost, had shared the universal
ruin. So had the writings and the clothing of the lamented
father, Isaac T. Hopper—of all these priceless mementoes, there
remained only the marble, life-size, bust of the son, which Mr.
Gibbons had providentially removed to a place of safety, and a
few minor objects. And all this ruin, and irreparable loss, had
been visited upon this charitable and patriotic family, by a furi-
ous, demoniac mob, because they loved Freedom, Justice, and
their country.
After this disaster the family were united beneath a hired roof
for some time, while their own house was repaired, and the frag-
ments of its scattered plenishing, and abundant treasures, were
gathered together and reclaimed.
Mrs. Gibbons returned for a brief space to Point Lookout,
where her purpose was to instal the Misses Woolsey, and then
leave them in charge of the hospital.
Circumstances, however, prevented her from leaving the Point
for a much longer period than she had intended to stay, and when
she did leave, she was accompanied by the Misses Woolsey, and
the whole party returned to New York together.
We have no record of the further army work of Mrs. and Miss
Gibbons until the opening of the grand campaign of the Army
of the Potomac, the following May.
Immediately after the battle of the Wilderness, Mrs. Gibbons

MRS. A. H. GIBBONS AND MISS SARAH H. GIBBONS.
475
In great
received a telegram desiring her to come to the aid of the
wounded. She resolved at once to go, and urged her daughter
to accompany her, as she had always done before. Miss Gibbons
had, in the meantime, married, and in the course of a few weeks
become a widow. She felt reluctant to return to the work she
had so loved, but her mother's wish, prevailed. The next day
they started, and in a very short space of time found themselves
amidst the horrible confusion and suffering which prevailed at
Belle Plain.
Their stay there was but brief, and in a short time they were
themselves established at Fredericksburg. There Mrs. Gibbons
was requested to take charge of a hospital, or rather a large
unfurnished building, which was to be used as one.
haste straw was found to fill the empty bed-sacks, which were
placed upon the floor, and the means to feed the suffering mass
who were expected. The men, in all the forms of suffering, were
placed upon these beds, and cared for as well as they could be,
as fast as they arrived, and Mrs. Emerson prepared food for
them, standing unsheltered in rain or sultry heat.
For weeks they toiled thus. One day when the towa was
beautiful and fragrant with the early roses, some regir, nts of
Northern soldiers landed and marched through the town in their
way to the front. The patriotic women gathered there , cheered
them as they marched on, and gathered roses which they offered
in a fragrant shower, with which the men decorated caps and
button-holes. They passed on; but two days later the long train
of ambulances crept down the hill, bringing back these heroes to
their pitying country women, the roses withering on their breasts,
and dyed with their sacred patriot blood.
Through all the horrors of this sad campaign, Mrs. Gibbons
and Mrs. Emerson remained, doing whatever their hai ds could
find to do. When Fredericksburg was evacuated, they accom-
panied the soldiers, riding in the open box-cars, and on the way
administering to them as they could.

476
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
They were for a time at White House, where thousands of
wounded required and received their aid, and afterwards at City
Point, where they remained for several weeks in charge of the
hospital of the Second Division, being from first to last, among
the most useful of the many noble women who were engaged in
this work.
After their return home, Mrs. Gibbons accepted an appoint-
ment at the hospital in Beverly, New Jersey, where she had
charge under Dr. Wagner, the excellent surgeon she had known,
and to whom she had become much attached, at Point Lookout.
As usual, Mrs. Emerson accompanied her to this place, and lent
her efforts to the great work to which both had devoted them-
selves.
There were about nineteen hundred patients in this hospital,
and the duties were arduous. They boarded with the family of
Dr. Wagner, adjacent to the hospital, and after the labors of the
day were mostly finished, they went there to dine, at seven o'clock.
Often, despite pleasant conversation, and attractive viands, the
sense of fatigue, before unfelt, would attack Mrs. Gibbons, and at
the table she would fall asleep. But the morning would find her
with strength restored, and ready for the toil of the coming day.
The winter of 1865 will long be remembered in New York for
the ravages of small-pox in that city. The victims were not con-
fined to any class, or locality, and there were perhaps as many in
the homes of wealth, as in the squalid dwelling-places of the poor.
Mrs. Gibbons was suddenly summoned home to nurse her
youngest daughter, in an attack of varioloid. This was accom-
plished, and the young lady recovered. But this closed the army
labors of the mother. She did not return, though Mrs. Emerson
remained till the close of the hospital the following spring, when
the end of the war rendered their further services in this work
unnecessary, and they once more found themselves settled in the
quiet of home.

MRS. E. J. RUSSELL.
W
E have spoken in previous sketches of the faithfulness
and devotion of many of the government nurses, ap-
pointed by Miss Dix. No salary, certainly not the
meagre pittance doled out by the government could
compensate for such services, and the only satisfactory reason
which can be offered for their willingness to render them, is that
their hearts were inspired by a patriotism equally ardent with
that which actuated their wealthier sisters, and that this pitiful
salary, hardly that accorded to a green Irish girl just arrived in
this country from the bogs of Erin, was accepted rather as
affording them the opportunity to engage more readily in their
work, than from any other cause. In many instances it was
expended in procuring necessary food or luxuries for their soldier-
patients, and in others, served to prevent dependence upon friends,
,
who had the disposition but perhaps hardly the ability to furnish
these heroic and self-denying nurses with the clothing or pocket-
money they needed in their work.
It is of one of these nurses, a lady of mature age, a widow, that
we have now to speak. Mrs. E. J. Russell, of Plattekill, Ulster
County, New York, was at the commencement of the war engaged
in teaching in New York city. In common with the other ladies
of the Reformed Dutch Church, in Ninth Street, of which she
was a member, she worked for the soldiers at every spare moment,
but the cause seemed to her to need her personal services in the
hospital, and in ministrations to the wounded o sick, and when
477

478
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
ances.
the call came for nurses, she waited upon Miss Dix, was accepted,
and sent first to the Regimental Hospital of the Twentieth New
York Militia, National Guard, then stationed at Annapolis Junc-
tion. On arriving there she found that the regiment consisted
of men from her own county, her former neighbors and acquaint-
The regiment was soon after ordered to Baltimore, and
being in the three months' service, was mustered out soon after,
and Mrs. Russell was assigned by Miss Dix to Columbia College
Hospital, Washington. Here she remained in the quiet discharge
of her duties, until June, 1864, not without many trials and dis-
comforts, for the position of the hired nurse in these hospitals
about Washington, was often rendered very uncomfortable by the
discourtesy of the young assistant surgeons. Her devotion to her
duties had been so intense that her health was seriously impaired,
and she resigned, but after a short period of rest, her strength
was sufficiently recruited for her to resume her labors, and she
reported for duty at West Building Hospital, Baltimore, where
she remained until after Lee's surrender. She was in the service
altogether four years, lacking eighteen days. During this time
nine hundred and eighty-five men were under her care,
for
vary
ing periods from a few days to thirteen months; of these ninety
died, and she closed the eyes of seventy-six of them. Her ser-
vice in Baltimore was in part among our returned prisoners, from
Belle Isle, Libby and other prisons, and in part among the
wounded rebel prisoners.
Many of the incidents which Mrs. Russell relates of the
wounded who passed under her care are very touching: Many
of her earlier patients were in the delirium of typhoid fever, and
her ears and heart were often pained in hearing their piteous calls
for their loved ones to come to them,-to forgive them-or to
help them. Often had she occasion to offer the consolations of
religion to those who were evidently nearing the river of death,
and sometimes she was made happy in finding that those who
were suffering terribly from racking pain, or the agony of wounds,

MRS. E. J. RUSSELL,
479
were comforted and cheered by her efforts to bring them to think
of the Saviour. One of these, suffering from an intense fever, as
she seated herself by the side of his cot, and asked himn in her
quiet gentle way, if he loved Jesus as his Saviour, clasped her
hand in his and folding it to his heart, asked so earnestly, "Do
you love Jesus too? Oh, yes, I love him. I do not fear to die,
for then I shall join my dear mother who taught me to love him.”
He then repeated with great distinctness a stanza of the hymn,
"Jesus can make a dying bed,” etc., and inquired if she could
sing. She could not, but she read several hymns to him. His
joy and peace made him apparently oblivious of his suffering
from the fever, and he endeavored as well as his failing strength
would permit, to tell her of his hopes of immortality, and to com-
mend to her prayers his only and orphaned sister.
Another, a poor fellow from Maine, dying of diphtheria, asked
her to pray for him and to read to him from the Bible. She com-
mended him tenderly to the Good Shepherd, and soon had the
happiness of seeing, even amid his sufferings, that his face was
radiant with joy. He selected a chapter of the Bible which he
wished her to read, and then sent messages by her to his mother
and friends, uttering the words with great difficulty, but passing
away evidently in perfect peace.
Since the war, Mrs. Russell has resumed her profession as a
teacher at Newburgh, New York.

MRS. MARY W. LEE,
T is somewhat remarkable that a considerable number
of the most faithful and active workers in the hospitals
and in other labors for the soldier during the late war,
should have been of foreign birth. Their patriotism
and benevolence was fully equal to that of our women born under
the banner of the stars, and their joy at the final triumph of our
arms was as fervent and hearty. Our readers will recall among
these noble women, Miss Wormeley, Miss Clara Davis, Miss
Jessie Home, Mrs. General Ricketts, Mrs. General Turchin,
Bridget Divers, and others.
Among the natives of a foreign land, but thoroughly American
in every fibre of her being, Mrs. Mary W. Lee stands among the
foremost of the earnest persistent toilers of the great army of
philanthropists. She was born in the north of Ireland, of Scotch
parentage, but came with her parents to the United States when
she was five years of age, and has ever since made Philadelphia
her home. Here she married Mr. Lee, a gold refiner, and a man
of great moral worth. An interesting family had grown up
around them, all, like their parents thoroughly patriotic. One
son enlisted early in the war, first, we believe, in the Pennsyl-
vania Reserve Corps, and afterward in the Seventy-second Penn-
sylvania Volunteers, and served throughout the war, and though
often in peril, escaped any severe wounds. A daughter, Miss
Amanda Lee, imbued with her mother's spirit, accompanied her
480

MRS. MARY W. LEE.
481
in most of her labors, and emulated her example of active use-
fulness.
Mrs. Lee was one of the noble band of women whose hearts
were moved with the desire to do something for our soldiers,
when they were first hastening to the war in April, 1861, and in
the organization of the Volunteer Refreshment Saloon at Phila-
delphia, an institution which fed, during the war, four hundred
thousand of our soldiers as they passed to and from the battle-
fields, and brought confort and solace to many thousands of the
sick and wounded, she was one of the most active and faithful
members of its committee. The regiments often arrived at mid-
night; but whatever the hour, whether night or day, at the firing
of the signal gun, which announced that troops were on their
way to Philadelphia, Mrs. Lee and her co-workers hastened to
the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, near the Navy Yard,
and prepared an ample repast for the soldiers, caring at the same
time for any sick or wounded among them. No previous fatigue
or weariness, no inclemency of the weather, or darkness of the
night was regarded by these heroic women as a valid excuse from
these self-imposed duties or rather this glorious privilege, for so
they deemed it, of ministering to the comfort of the defenders of
the Union. And through the whole four and a-third years
dur-
ing which troops passed through Philadelphia, no regiment or
company ever passed unfed. The supplies as well as the patience
and perseverance of the women held out to the end, and scores
of thousands who but for their voluntary labors and beneficence
must have suffered severely from hunger, had occasion to bless
God for the philanthropy and practical benevolence of the women
of Philadelphia.
But this field of labor, broad as it was, did not fully satisfy the
patriotic ardor of Mrs. Lee. She had heard of the sufferings and
privations endured by our soldiers at the front, and in hospitals
remote from the cities; and she longed to go and minister to their
wants. Fortunately, she coull be spared for a time at least from
61

482
WOMANS WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
her home. Though of middle age, she possessed a vigorous con-
stitution, capable of enduring all necessary hardships, and was in
full health and strength. She was well known as a skilful cook,
an admirable nurse, and an excellent manager of household affairs. .
The sickness of some members of her family delayed her for a
time, but when this obstacle was removed, she felt that she could
not longer be detained from her chosen work. It was July, 1862,
the period when the Army of the Potomac exhausted by its
wearisome march and fearful battles of the seven days, lay almost
helpless at Harrison's Landing. The sick poisoned by the ma-
laria of the Chickahominy Swamps, and the wounded, shattered
and maimed wrecks of humanity from the great battles, were
being sent off by thousands to the hospitals of Washington, Bal-
timore, Philadelphia, New York, and New England, and yet
other thousands lay in the wretched field hospitals around the
Landing, with but scant care, and in utter wretchedness and
misery. The S. R. Spaulding, one of the steamers assigned to
the United States Sanitary Commission for its Hospital Trans-
port Service, had brought to Philadelphia a heavy cargo of the
sick and wounded, and was about to return for another, when
Mrs. Lee, supplied with stores by the Union Volunteer Refresh-
ment Committee, and her personal friends, embarked upon it for
Harrison's Landing, where she was to be associated with Mrs.
John Harris in caring for the soldiers. The Spaulding arrived
in due time in the James River, and lay off in the stream while
the Ruffin house was burning. On landing, Mrs. Lee found
Mrs. Harris, and the Rev. Isaac O. Sloan, one of the Agents of
the Christian Commission ready to welcome her to the toilsome
duties that were before her. Wretched indeed was the condition
of the poor sick men, lying in mildewed, leaky tents without
floors, and the pasty tenacious mud ankle deep around them, the
raging thirst and burning fever of the marshes consuming them,
with only the warm and 'mpure river water to drink, and little
even of this; with but a small supply of medicines, and no food

MRS. MARY W. LEE.
483
or delicacies suitable for the sick, the bean soup, unctuous with
rancid pork fat, forming the principal article of low diet; uncheered
by kind words or tender sympathy, it is hardly matter of surprise
that hundreds of as gallant men as ever entered the army died
here daily.
The supplies of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, and
those sent to Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Lee, from the Ladies' Aid
Society, and the Union Volunteer Refreshment Committee, ad-
ministered by such skilful nurses as Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Lee,
Mrs. Fales, Mrs. Husband, and Miss Hall, soon changed the as-
pect of affairs, and though the malarial fever still raged, there
was a better chance of recovery from it, and the sick men were
as rapidly as possible transferred to a better climate, and a health-
ier atmosphere. In the latter part of August, the Army of the
Potomac having left the James River for Acquia Creek and
Alexandria, Mrs. Lee returned home for a brief visit.
On the 5th of September, she started for Washington, to enter
again upon her chosen work. Finding that the Army were just
about moving into Maryland, she spent a few days in the Hos-
pital of the Epiphany at Washington, nursing the sick and
wounded there; but learning that the Army of the Potomac were
in hot pursuit of the Rebel Army, and that a severe battle was
impending, she could not rest; she determined to be near the
troops, so that when the battle came, she might be able to render
prompt assistance to the wounded. It was almost impossible to
obtain transportation, the demand for the movement of sustenance
and ammunition for the army filling every wagon,
and still prov-
ing insufficient for their wants; but by the kind permission of
Captain Gleason of the Seventy-first Pennsylvania Volunteers,
she was permitted to follow with her stores in a forage wagon,
and arrived at the rear of the army the night before the battle of
Antietam. The battle commenced with the dawn on the 17th
of September, and during its progress, she was stationed on the
Sharpsburg road, where she had her supplies and two large tubs

484
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of water, one to bathe and bind up the wounds of those who had
fallen in the fight, and the other to refresh them when suffering
from the terrible thirst which gun-shot wounds always produce.
As the hours drew on, the contents of one assumed a deeper and
yet deeper crimson hue and the seemingly ample supply of the
other grew less and less. Her supply of soft bread had given
out, and she had bought of an enterprising sutler who had pushed
his
way to a place of danger in the hope of gain, at ten and
twenty cents a loaf, till her money was nearly exhausted; but to
the honor of this sutler, it should be said, that the noble example
of Mrs. Lee, in seeking to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded
so moved his feelings, that he exclaimed, “Great God! I can't
stand this any longer; Take this bread, and give it to that wo-
man,” (Mrs. Lee), and forgetting for the time the greed of gain
which had brought him thither, he lent a helping hand most zeal-
ously to the care of the wounded. During the day, General Mc
Clellan's head-quarters were at Boonsboro', and his aids were
onstantly passing back and forth over the Sharpsburg road, near
which Mrs. Lee had her station.
The battle closed with the night-fall, and Mrs. Lee imme-
diately went into the Sedgwick Division Hospital, where were
five hundred severely wounded men, and among the number,
Major-General Sedgwick. Here she commenced preparing food
for the wounded, but was greatly annoyed by a gang of villain-
ous camp followers, who hung around her fires and stole every-
thing from them if she was engaged for a moment. At last she
entered the hospital, and inquired if there was any officer there
who had the authority to order her a guard. General Sedgwick
immediately responded to her request, by authorizing her to call
upon the first soldier she could find for the purpose, and she had
no further annoyance.
She remained for several days at this hospital, doing all she
could with the means at her command, to make the condition of
the wounded comfortable, but on the arrival of Mrs. Arabella

MRS. MARY W. LEE.
485
Barlow, whose husband, then Colonel, afterward Major-General
Barlow, was very severely wounded, she gave up the charge of
this hospital to her, and went to the Hoffman Farm's Hospital,
where there were over a thousand of the worst cases. Here she
was the only lady for several weeks, until the hospital was re-
moved to Smoketown, where she was joined by Miss M. M. C.
Hall, Mrs. Husband, Mrs. Harris, and Miss Tyson, of Baltimore,
She remained at Smoketown General Hospital, nearly three
months. The worst cases, those which could not bear removal
to Washington, Baltimore, or Philadelphia, were collected in this
hospital, and there was much suffering and many deaths in it.
Mrs. Lee returned home on the 14th of December, 1862, and
on the 29th of the same month, she again set out for the front,
arriving safely at Falmouth on the 31st, where the wounded of
Fredericksburg were gathered by thousands. After four weeks
of earnest labor here, she again returned home, but early in
March, she was again at the front, in the Hospital of the Second
Corps, which had been removed from Falmouth to Potomac
Creek. She continued in this Hospital until the battle of Chan-
cellorsville, when she went up to the Lacy House, at Falmouth,
to assist Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Beck. She accompanied Mrs.
Harris, and several of the gentlemen of the Christian Commission
in an Ambulance to take nourishment to the wounded of General
Sedgwick's command, and witnessed the taking of Marye's
Heights, the balls from the batteries passing over the heads of
her company. Her anxiety in regard to this conflict was height-
ened by the fact that her son was in one of the regiments which
made the charge upon the Heights, and great was her gratitude in
finding that he was not among the wounded.
After the wounded were sent to Washington she returned to
Potomac Creek, where she remained until Lee's second invasion
of Maryland and Pennsylvania, when she moved with the army
as far as Fairfax Court-House, enduring many hardships. From
Fairfax Court-House she went te Alexandria to await the result

486
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of the movement, and after some delay returned home. The
battle of Gettysburg called her again into the field. Arriving
several days after the battle, she went directly to the Second
Corps Hospital, and labored there until it was broken up. For
her services in this hospital she received from the officers and
men a gold medal—a trefoil, beautifully engraved, and with an
appropriate inscription. She went next to Camp Letterman Gen-
eral Hospital, where she remained for some weeks, her stay at
Gettysburg being in all about two months. Her health was im-
paired by her excessive labors at Gettysburg and previously in
Virginia, and she remained at home for a longer time than usual,
giving her attention, however, meanwhile to the Volunteer Re-
freshment Saloon, but early in February, 1864, she established
herself in a new hospital of the Second Division, Second Corps,
at Brandy Station, Virginia. Here, soon after, her daughter
joined her, and the old routine of the hospital at Potomac Creek
was soon established. Mrs. Lee has the faculty of making the
most of her conveniences and supplies. Her daughter writing
home from this hospital thus describes the furniture of her
Special Diet Kitchen:”—“Mother has a small stove; until this
morning it has smoked very much, but it is now doing very well.
The top is about half a yard square. On this she is now boiling
potatoes, stewing some chicken-broth, heating a kettle of water,
and has a large bread-pudding inside. She has made milk-punch,
lemonade, beef-tea, stewed cranberries, and I cannot think what
else since breakfast." With all this intense activity the spiritual
interests of her patients were not forgotten. Mrs. Lee is a woman
of deep and unaffected piety, and her tact in speaking a word in
season, and in bringing the men under religious influences was
remarkable. This hospital soon became remarkable for its order,
neatness and cheerfulness.
The order of General Grant on the 15th of April, 1864, for
the renoval of all civilians from the army, released Mrs. Lee and
Mrs. Husband, who had been associated with her, from their

MRS. MARY W. LEE.
487
duties at Brandy Station. But in less than a month both were
recalled to the temporary base of the army at Belle Plain and
Fredericksburg, to minister to the thousands of wounded from the
destructive battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. At
Fredericksburg, where the whole town was one vast hospital, the
surgeon in charge entrusted her with the care of the special diet
of the Second Corps' hospitals. Unsupplied with kitchen furni-
ture, and the surgeon being entirely at a loss how to procure any,
her woman's wit enabled her to improvise the means of perform-
ing her duties. She remembered that Mrs. Harris had left at the
Lacy House in Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, the year
before, an old stove which might be there yet. Procuring an am-
bulance, she crossed the river, and found the old stove, much the
worse for wear, and some kettles and other utensils, all of which
were carefully transported to the other side, and after diligent
scouring, the whole were soon in such a condition that boiling,
baking, stewing and frying could proceed simultaneously, and
during her stay in Fredericksburg, the old stove was kept con-
stantly hot, and her skilful hands were employed from morning
till night and often from night till morning again in the prepara-
tion of food and delicacies for the sick. Nothing but her iron
constitution enabled her to endure this incessant labor.
From Fredericksburg she went over land to White House and
there, aided by Miss Cornelia Hancock, her ministrations to the
wounded were renewed. Thence soon after they removed to City
Point. Here for months she labored amid such suffering and
distress that the angels must have looked down in pity upon the
accumulated human woe which met their sympathizing eyes
Brave, noble-hearted men fell by hundreds and thousands, and
died not knowing whether their sacrifices would be sufficient to
save their country. At length wearied with her intense and pro-
tracted labors, Mrs. Lee found herself compelled to visit home
and rest for a time. But her heart was in the work, and
again
she returned to it, and was in charge of a hospital near Petersburg

488
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
at the time of Lee's surrender. She remained in the hospitals
of Petersburg and Richmond, until the middle of May, and then
returned to her quiet home, participating to the very last in the
closing work of the Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, where she
had commenced her labors for the soldiers. Other ladies may
have engaged in more extended enterprises, may have had charge
of larger hospitals, or undertaken more comprehensive and far-
reaching plans for usefulness to the soldier—but in untiring devo-
tion to his interests, in faithfully performed, though often irksome
labor, carried forward patiently and perseveringly for more than
four years, Mrs. Lee has a record not surpassed in the history of
the deeds of American women.

MRS. ISABELLA FOGG.
M
ROAINE has given to the cause of the Union many noble
heroes, brave spirits who have perilled life and health
to put down the rebellion, and not a few equally brave
and noble-hearted women, who in the ministrations of
mercy have laid on the altar of patriotism their personal services,
their ease and comfort, their health and some of them even life
itself to bring healing and comfort to the defenders of their coun-
try. Among these, few, none perhaps save those who have laid
down their lives in the service, are more worthy of honor than
Mrs. Fogg
The call for seventy-five thousand men to drive back the inva-
ders and save the National Capital, met with no more hearty or
patriotic responses than those that came from the extreme north-
eastern border of our Union, “away towards the sun-rising.”
Calais, in the extreme eastern part of Maine, raised its quota and
more, upon the instant, and sent them forward promptly. The
hearts of its women, too were stirred, and each was anxious to do
something for the soldier. Mrs. Fogg felt that she was called to
leave her home and minister in some way, she hardly knew how,
to the comfort of those who were to fight the nation's battles. At
that time, however, home duties were so pressing that, most reluc-
tantly, she was compelled to give up for the time the purpose.
Three months later came the seeming disaster, the real blessing
in disguise, of Bull Run, and again was her heart moved, this
time to more definite action, and a more determined purpose.
489

490
WOMAN'S WORK IN TIIE CIVIL WAR.
Her son, a mere boy, had left school and enlisted to help fill the
ranks from his native State, and she was ready now to go also.
Applying to the patriotic governor of Maine and to the surgeon-
general of the State for permission to serve the State, without
compensation, as its agent for distributing supplies to the sick and
wounded soldiers of Maine, she was encouraged by them and
immediately commenced the work of collecting hospital stores for
her mission. In September, 1861, she in company with Mrs.
Ruth S. Mayhew, went out with one of the State regiments, and
caring for its sick, accompanied it to Annapolis. The regiment
was ordered, late in the autumn, to join General T. W. Sherman's
expedition to Port Royal, and Mrs. Fogg was desirous of accom-
panying it, but finding this impracticable, she turned her attention
to the hospital at Annapolis, in which the spotted typhus fever
had broken out and was raging with fearful malignity. The dis-
ease was exceedingly contagious, and there was great difficulty in
finding nurses who were willing to risk the contagion. With her
high sense of duty, Mrs. Fogg felt that here was the place for her,
and in company with Mrs. Mayhew, another noble daughter of
Maine, she volunteered for service in this hospital. For more
than three months did these heroic women remain at their post,
on duty every day and often through the night for week after
week, regardless of the infectious character of the disease, and
only anxious to benefit the poor fever-stricken sufferers. The
epidemic having subsided, Mrs. Fogg placed herself under the
direction of the Sanitary Commission, and took part in the spring
of 1862, in that Hospital Transport Service which we have else-
where so fully described. The month of June was passed by her
at the front, at Savage's Station, with occasional visits to the
brigade hospitals, and to the regimental hospitals of the most
advanced posts. She remained at her post at Savage's Station,
until the last moment, ministering to the wounded until the last
load had been dispatched, and then retreating with the ariny, over
land to Harrison's Landing. Here, under the orders of Dr. Let-

MRS. ISABELLA FOGG.
491
terman, the medical director, she took special charge of the uset
of the amputation cases; and subsequently distributed the much
needed supplies furnished by the Sanitary Commission to the sol -
diers in their lines.
When the camps at Harrison's Landing were broken up, and
the army tran ferred to the Potomac, she accompanied a ship load
of the wounded in the S. R. Spaulding, to Philadelphia, saw them
safely removed to the general hospital, and then returned to
Maine, for a brief period of rest, having been absent from home
about a year. Her rest consisted mainly in appeals for further
and larger supplies of hospital and sanitary stores for the wounded
men of Maine, who in the battles of Pope's campaign, and Antie-
tam had been wounded by hundreds. She was successful, and
early in October returned to Washington and the hospitals of
northern Maryland, where she proved an angel of mercy to the
suffering. When McClellan's army crossed the Potomac, she fol-
lowed, and early in December, 1862, was again at the front, where
she was on the 13th, a sad spectator of the fatal disaster of
Fredericksburg. The Maine Camp Hospital Association had
been formed the preceding summer, and Mrs. J. S. Eaton,
one of its managers, had accompanied Mrs. Fogg to the front.
During the sad weeks that followed the battle of Fredericksburg,
these devoted ladies labored with untiring assiduity in the hos-
pitals, and dispensed their supplies of food and clothing, not only
to the Maine boys, but to others who were in need.
When the battles of Chancellorsville were fought in the first
days of May, 1863, Mrs. Fogg and Mrs. Eaton spent almost a
week of incessant labor, much of the time day and night, in the
temporary hospitals near United States Ford, their labors being
shared for one or two days by Mrs. Husband, in dressing wounds,
and attending to the poor fellows who had suffered amputation,
and furnishing cordials and food to the wounded who were re-
treating from the field, pursued by the enemy. One of these
Hospitals in which they had been thus laboring till they were

492
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
completely exhausted, was shelled by the enemy while they were
in it, and while it was filled with the wounded. The attack was
of short duration, for the battery which had shelled them was
soon silenced, but one of the wounded soldiers was killed by a
shell.
In works like these, in the care of the wounded who were sent
in by flag of truce, and the distribution to the needy of the stores
received from Maine, the days passed quickly, till the invasion
of Pennsylvania by General Lee, which culminated in the battle
of Gettysburg. Mrs. Fogg pushed forward and reached the bat-
tle-field the day after the final battle, but she could not obtain
transportation for her stores at that time, and was obliged to col-
lect what she could from the farmers in the vicinity, and use what
was put into her hands for distribution by others, until hers could
be brought up.
She labored with her usual assiduity and pa-
tience among this great mass of wounded and dying men, for
nearly two weeks, and then, abundant helpers having arrived, she
returned to the front, and was with the Army as a voluntary
Special Relief agent, through all its changes of position on and
about the Rapidan, at the affair of Mine Run, the retreat and
pursuit to Bristow Station, and the other movements prior to
General Grant's assumption of the chief command. In the win-
ter of 1864, she made a short visit home, and the Legislature
voted an appropriation of a considerable sum of money to be
placed at her disposal, to be expended at her discretion for the
comfort and succor of Maine soldiers.
At the opening of the great Campaign of May, 1864, she hast-
ened to Belle Plain and Fredericksburg, and there, in company
with scores of other faithful and earnest workers, toiled night
and day to relieve so far as possible the indescribable suffering
which filled that desolated city. After two or three weeks, she
went forward to Port Royal, to White House, and finally to City
Point, where, in connection with Mrs. Eaton of the Maine Camp
Hospital Association, she succeeded in bringing one of the Hos-

MRS. ISABELLA FOGG.
493
pitals up to the highest point of efficiency. This accomplished,
she returned to Maine, and was engaged in stimulating the wu-
men of her State to more effective labors, when she received the
intelligence that her son who had been in the Army of the She-
nandoah, had been mortally wounded at the battle of Cedar-Run.
With all a mother's anxieties aroused, she abandoned her work
in Maine, and hastened to Martinsburg, Virginia, to ascertain
what was really her son's fate. Here she met a friend, one of the
delegates of the Christian Commission, and learned from him,
that her son had indeed been badly wounded, and had been
obliged to undergo the amputation of one leg, but had borne the
operation well, and after a few days had been transferred to a
Baltimore Hospital. To that city she hastened, and greatly to
her joy, found him doing well. Anxiety and over exertion soon
prostrated her own health, and she was laid upon a sick bed for
a month or more.
In November, her health being measurably restored, she re-
turned to Washington, and asked to be assigned to duty by the
Christian Commission. She was directed to report to Mrs. Annie
Wittenmeyer, who was the Commission's Agent for the establish-
ment of Special Diet Kitchens in the Hospitals. Mrs. Witten-
meyer assigned her a position in charge of the Special Diet
Kitchen, on one of the large hospital-boats plying between Louis-
ville and Nashville. While on duty on board this boat in January,
1865, she fell through one of the hatchways, and received in-
juries which will probably disable her for life, and her condition
was for many months so critical as not to permit her removal to
her native State. Yet amid all these depressing circumstances,
this heroic woman was full of joy, that she had been permitted to
labor so long, and accomplish so much for her country and its
defenders, and that peace had at last dawned upon the nation.
Even pain could bring no cloud over her brow, no gloom to her
heart. To such a heroine, the nation owes higher honors than it
has ever bestowed upon the victors of the battle-field.

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
ERHAPS among all who have labored for the sol-
dier, during the late war, among the women of our
country, no name is better known that of Mrs. A. H.
Hoge, the subject of this sketch. From the beginning
until the successful close of the war, alike cheerful, ardent, and
reliant, in its darkest, as in its brightest days, Mrs. Hoge dedi-
cated to the service of her country and its defenders, all that she
had to bestow, and became widely known all over the vast sphere
of her operations, as one of the most faithful and tireless of
workers; wise in council, strong in judgment, earnest in action.
Mrs. Hoge is a native of the city of Philadelphia, and was
the daughter of George D. Blaikie, Esq., an East India shipping
merchant—"a man of spotless character, and exalted reputation,
whose name is held in reverence by many still living there.”
Mrs. Hoge was educated at the celebrated seminary of John
Brewer, A. M., (a graduate of Harvard University) who founded
the first classical school for young ladies in Philadelphia, and
which was distingưished from all others, by the name of the
Young Ladies' College. She graduated with the first rank in
her class, and afterward devoting much attention, with the
advantage of the best instruction, to music, and other accom-
plishments, she soon excelled in the former. At an early age she
became a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church, with
which she still retains her connection, her husband being a ruling
elder in the same church.
494

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
495
In her twentieth year she was married to Mr. A. H. Hoge, a
merchant of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where she resided fourteen
years. At the end of that period she removed to Chicago, Illi-
nois, where she has since dwelt.
Mrs. Hoge has been the mother of thirteen children, five of
whom have passed away before her. One of these, the Rev.
Thomas Hoge, was a young man of rare endowments and prom-
ise.
As before stated, from the very beginning of the war, Mrs.
Hoge identified herself with the interests of her country. Two
of her sons immediately entered the army, and she at once com-
menced her unwearied personal services for the sick and wounded
soldiers.
At first she entered only into that work of supply in which so
large a portion of the loyal women of the North labored more or
less continuously all through the war. But the first public act of
her life as a Sanitary Agent, was to visit, at the request of the
Chicago branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, the
hospitals at Cairo, Mound City and St. Louis.
Of her visit to one of these hospitals she subsequently related
the following incidents :
“The first great hospital I visited was Mound City, twelve
miles from Cairo. It contained twelve hundred beds, furnished
with dainty sheets, and pillows and shirts, from the Sanitary
Commission, and ornamented with boughs of fresh apple blos-
soms, placed there by tender female nurses to refresh the languid
frames of their mangled inmates. As I took my slow and solemn
walk through this congregation of suffering humanity, I was
arrested by the bright blue eyes, and pale but dimpled cheek, of
a boy of nineteen summers. I perceived he was bandaged like a
mummy, and could not move a limb; but still, he smiled. The
nurse who accompanied me said, “We call this boy our miracle.
Five weeks ago, he was shot down at Donelson; both legs and
arms shattered. To-day, with great care, he has been turned for

496
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the first time, and never a murmur has escaped his lips, but grate-
ful words and pleasant looks have cheered us.' Said I to the
smiling boy, some absent mother's pride, ‘How long did you
lie
on the field after being shot?' 'From Saturday morning till Sun-
day evening,' he replied, and then I was chopped out, for I had
frozen feet. “How did it happen that you were left so long ?'
Why, you see,' said he, they couldn't stop to bother with us,
because they had to take the fort. “But,' said I, 'did you not feel
'twas cruel to leave you to suffer so long?' 'Of course not! how
could they help it? They had to take the fort, and when they did,
we forgot our sufferings, and all over the battle-field went up
cheers from the wounded, even from the dying. Men that had
but one arm raised that, and voices so weak that they sounded
like children's, helped to swell the sound.' Did you suffer much?'
His brow contracted, as he said, 'I don't like to think of that;
but never mind, the doctor tells me I won't lose an arm or a leg,
and I'm going back to have another chance at them. There's
one thing I can't forget though,” said he, as his sunny brow grew
dark, 'Jem and I (nodding at the boy in the adjoining cot) lived
on our father's neighboring farms in Illinois; we stood beside
each other and fell together. As he knows, we saw fearful sights
that day. We saw poor wounded boys stripped of their clothing.
They cut our's off, when every movement was torture. When
some resisted, they were pinned to the earth with bayonets, and
left writhing like worms, to die by inches. I can't forgive the
devils for that.' 'I fear you've got more than you bargained for.'
Not a bit of it; we went in for better or worse, and if we got
worse, we must not complain. Thus talked the beardless boy,
nine months only from his mother's wing. As I spoke, a moan,
a rare sound in a hospital, fell on my ear. I turned, and saw a
French boy quivering with agony and crying for help. Alas! he
had been wounded, driven several miles in an ambulance, with
his feet projecting, had them frightfully frozen, and the surgeon
had just decided the discolored, useless members must be ampu-
وو

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
497
tated, and the poor boy was begging for the operation. Beside
him, lay a stalwart man, with fine face, the fresh blood staining
his bandages, his dark, damp hair clustering round his marble
forehead. He extended his hand feebly and essayed to speak, as
I bent over him, but speech had failed him. He was just brought
in from a gunboat, where he had been struck with a piece of shell,
and was slipping silently but surely into eternity. Two days
afterward I visited Jefferson Barracks Hospital. In passing
through the wards, I noticed a woman seated beside the cot of a
youth, apparently dying. He was insensible to all around; she
seemed no less so. Her face was bronzed and deeply lined with
care and suffering. Her eyes were bent on the ground, her arms
folded, her features rigid as marble. I stood beside her, but she
did not notice me. I laid my hand upon her shoulder, but she
heeded me not. I said “Is this young man a relative of yours?'
No answer came. "Can't I help you?' With a sudden start that
electrified me, her dry eyes almost starting from the sockets and
her voice husky with agony, she said, pointing her attenuated
finger at the senseless boy, 'He is the last of seven sons—six have
died in the army, and the doctor says he must die to-night.' The
flash of life passed from her face as suddenly as it came, her arms
folded over her breast, she sank in her chair, and became as before,
the rigid impersonation of agony. As I passed through another
hospital ward, I noticed a man whose dejected figure said plainly,
"he had turned his face to the wall to die.' His limb had been
amputated, and he had just been told his doom. Human nature
rebelled. He cried out, 'I am willing to die, if I could but see
my
wife and children once more. In the silence that followed
this burst of agony, the low voice of a noble woman, who gave
her time and abundant means to the sick and wounded soldiers,
was heard in prayer for him. The divine influence overcame his
struggling heart, and as she concluded, he said, “Thy will, O God,
be done!' "'Tis a privilege, even thus, to die for one's country.'

498
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
29
Before the midnight hour he was at rest. The vacant bed told
the story next morning.”
The object of these visits was to examine those hospitals which
were under the immediate supervision of the Branch, and report
their condition, also to investigate the excellent mode of working
of the finely conducted, and at that time numerous hospitals in
St. Louis. This report was made and acted upon, and was the
means of introducing decided and much needed reforms into simi-
lar institutions.
The value of Mrs. Hoge's counsel, and the fruits of her great
experience of life were generally acknowledged. In the several
councils of women held in Washington, she took a prominent part,
and was always listened to with the greatest respect and attention
—not by any means lessened after her wide relations with the
Sanitary Commission, and her special experience of its work, had
become known in the following years.
Mrs. Hoge was accompanied to Washington, when attending
the Women's Council in 1862, by her friend and fellow-laborer,
Mrs. M. A. Livermore, of Chicago. After the return of these
ladies they immediately commenced the organization of the North-
west for sanitary labor, being appointed agents of the Northwestern
Sanitary Commission, and devoting their entire time to this
Work.
They opened a correspondence with leading women in all the
cities and prominent towns of the Northwest. They prepared
and circulated great numbers of circulars, relating to the mode
and necessity of the concentrated efforts of the Aid Societies, and
they visited in person very many towns and large villages, call-
ing together audiences of women, and telling them of the hard-
ships, sufferings and heroism of the soldiers, which they had
themselves witnessed, and the pressing needs of these men, which
were to be met by the supplies contributed by, and the work of
loyal women of the North. They thus stimulated the enthusiasm
of the women to the highest point, greatly increased the number

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
499
of Aid Societies, and taught them how, by syetematizing their
efforts, they could render the largest amount of assistance, as well
as the most important, to the objects of the Sanitary Commis-
sion.
The eloquence and pathos of these appeals has never been sur-
passed; and it is no matter of wonder that they should have
opened the hearts and purses of so many thousands of the lis-
teners. “But for these noble warriors,” Mrs. Hoge would say,
“who have stood a living wall between us and destruction, where
would have been our schools, our colleges, our churches, our pro-
perty, our government, our lives? Southern soil has been watered
with their blood, the Mississippi fringed with their graves, meas-
ured by acres instead of numbers. The shadow of death has passed
over almost every household, and left desolate hearth-stones and
vacant chairs. Thousands of mothers, wives and sisters at home
have died and made no sign, while their loved ones have been
hidden in Southern hospitals, prisons and graves--the separation,
thank God, is short, the union eternal. I have only a simple
story of these martyred heroes to tell you. I have been privileged
to visit a hundred thousand of them in hospitals; meekly and
cheerfully lying there, that you and I may be enabled to meet
here, in peace and comfort to-day.
“Could I, by the touch of a magician's wand, pass before you
in solemn review, this army of sufferers, you would say a tithe
cannot be told."
And then with simple and effective pathos she would proceed
to tell of incidents which she had witnessed, so touching, that long
ere she had concluded her entire audience would be in tears.
By two years of earnest and constant labor in this field, these
ladies succeeded in adding to the packages sent to the Sanitary
Commission, fifty thousand, mostly gifts directly from the Aid
Societies, but in part purchased with money given. In addition
to this, over four hundred thousand dollars came into the treasury
through their efforts.

500
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Early in 1863, Mrs. Hoge, in company with Mrs. Colt of Mil-
waukee, at the request of the Sanitary Commission, left Chicago for
Vicksburg, with a large quantity of sanitary stores. The defeat
of Sherman in his assault upon that city, had just taken place,
and there was great want and suffering in the army. The boat
upon which these ladies were traveling, was however seized as a
military transport at Columbus, and pressed into the fleet of
General Gorman, which was just starting for the forts at the
mouth of the White River.
General Fisk, whose headquarters were upon the same boat,
accorded to these ladies the best accommodations, and every
facility for carrying out their work, which proved to be greatly
needed. Their stores were found to be almost the only ones in the
feet, composed of thirty steamers filled with fresh troops, whose
ranks were soon thinned by sickness, consequent upon the expo-
sures and fatigues of the campaign.
Their boat became a refuge for the sick of General Fisk's
brigade, to his honor be it said, and these ladies had the privilege
of nursing hundreds of men during this expedition, and un-
doubtedly saved many valuable lives.
Early in the following spring, and only ten days after her
return to Chicago, from the expedition mentioned above, Mrs.
Hoge was again summoned to Vicksburg, opposite which, at
Young's Point, the army under General Grant was lying and
engaged, among other operations against this celebrated strong-
hold, in the attempt to turn the course of the river into a canal
dug across the point. Scurvy was prevailing to a very considera-
ble extent among the men, who were greatly in need of the sup-
plies which accompanied her. Here she remained two weeks,
and had the pleasure of distributing these supplies, and witness-
ing much benefit from their use. Her headquarters were upon
the sanitary boat, Silver Wave, and she received constant support
and aid from Generals Grant and Sherman, and from Admirai
Porter, who placed a tug boat at her disposal, in order that she

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
501
might visit the camps and hospitals which were totally inaccessi -
ble in any other way, owing to the impassable character of the
roads during the rainy season. Having made a tour of all the
hospitals, and ascertained the condition of the sick, and of the
army generally, she retu"ned to the North, and reported to the
Sanitary Commission the extent of that insidious army foe, the
scurvy. They determined to act promptly and vigorously. Mrs.
Hoge and Mrs. Livermore, as representatives of the Northwestern
Sanitary Commission, by unremitting exertions, through the
press and by circulars, and aided by members of the Commission,
and by the noble Board of Trade of Chicago, succeeded in col-
lecting, and in sending to the army, in the course of three weeks,
over one thousand bushels of potatoes and onions, which reached
them, were apportioned to them, and proved, as was anticipated, and
has been universally acknowledged, the salvation of the troops.
Again, in the following June, on the invitation of General
Fuller, Adjutant-General of the State of Illinois, Mrs. Hoge
visited Vicksburg, on the Steamer City of Alton, which was de-
spatched by Governor Yates, to bring home the sick and wounded
Illinois soldiers. She remained till shortly before the surrender,
which took place on the fourth of July, and during this time
visited the entire circle of Hospitals, as well as the rifle-pits,
where she witnessed scenes of thrilling interest, and instances of
endurance and heroism beyond the power
of
pen to describe.
She thus describes some of the incidents of this visit:
“ The long and weary siege of Vicksburg, had continued many
months previous to the terrific assaults of our brave army on the
fortifications in the rear of that rebel stronghold. On the 19th
and 22d of May, were made those furious attacks, up steep ac-
clivities, in the teeth of bristling fortifications, long lines of rifle-
pits, and sharp-shooters who fringed the hill-tops, and poured
their murderous fire into our advancing ranks. It would seem
impossible that men could stand, much less advance, under such
a galling fire. They were mowed down as wheat before the sickle,

502
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
but they faltered not. The vacant places of the fallen were in-
stantly filled, and inch by inch they gained the heights of Vicks-
burg. When the precipice was too steep for the horses to draw
пр the artillery, our brave boys did the work themselves, and
then fought and conquered. When they had gained the topmost
line of rifle-pits, they entered in and took possession; and when
I made my last visit to the Army of the Mississippi, there they were
ensconced as conies in the rock, enduring the heat of a vertical
sun, and crouching, like beasts of prey, to escape the rebel bul-
lets from the earthworks, almost within touching distance. The
fierce and bloody struggle had filled long lines of field-hospitals
with mangled victims, whose sufferings were soothed and relieved
beyond what I could have conceived possible, and it rejoiced my
heart to see there the comforts and luxuries of the Sanitary Com-
mission. The main body of the army lay encamped in the val-
leys,' at the foot of the rifle-pits, and spread its lines in a semi-
circle to a distance of fourteen miles. The health of the
army
was perfect, its spirit jubilant. They talked of the rebels as
prisoners, as though they were guarding them, and answered
questions implying doubt of success, with a scornful laugh, say-
ing, “Why, the boys in the rear could whip Johnston, and we not
know it; and we could take Vicksburg if we chose, and not dis-
turb them.' Each regiment, if not each man, felt competent for
the work. One glorious day in June, accompanied by an officer
of the 8th Missouri, I set out for the rifle-pits. When I reached
them, I found the heat stifling; and as I bent to avoid the whiz-
zing minies, and the falling branches of the trees, cut off by an
occasional shell, I felt that war was a terrible reality. The in-
tense excitement of the scene, the manly, cheerful bearing of the
veterans, the booming of the cannon from the battlements, and
the heavy mortars that were ever and anon throwing their huge
iron balls into Vicksburg, and the picturesque panorama of the
army encamped below, obliterated all sense of personal danger or
fatigue. After a friendly talk with the men in the extreme front,

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
503
and a peep again and again through the loop-holes, watched and
fired upon continually, by the wary foe, I descended to the second
ledge, where the sound of music reached us. We followed it
quickly, and in a few moments stood behind a rude litter of
boughs, on which lay a gray-haired soldier, face downward, with
a comrade on either side. They did not perceive us, but sang on
the closing line of the verse :
Come humble sinner in whose breast
A thousand thoughts revolve;
Come with thy sins and fears oppressed,
And make this last resolve.
I joined in the second verse;
'I'll go to Jesus, though my sins
Have like a mountain rose,
I know His courts, I'll enter in,
Whatever may oppose.'
In an instant, each man turned and would have stopped, but I
sang on with moistened eyes, and they continued. At the close,
one burst out, 'Why, ma'am, where did you come from? Did
you drop from heaven into these rifle-pits? You are the first
lady we have seen here,' and then the voice was choked with
tears. I said, 'I have come from your friends at home to see
you, and bring messages of love and honor. I have come to
bring you the comforts that we owe you, and love to give. I've
come to see if you receive what they send you.' 'Do they think
so much of us as that? Why, boys, we can fight another year
on that, can't we?' 'Yes! yes! they cried, and almost every
hand was raised to brush away the tears. “Why, boys,' said I,
the women at home don't think of much else but the soldiers.
If they meet to sew, 'tis for you; if they have a good time, 'tis
to gather money for the Sanitary Commission; if they meet to
pray, 'tis for the soldiers; and even the little children, as they
kueel at their mother's knees to lisp their good-night prayers, say,

504
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
God bless the soldiers. A crowd of eager listeners had gathered
from their hiding-places, as birds from the rocks. Instead of
cheers as usual, I could only hear an occasional sob and feel
solemu silence. The gray-haired veteran drew from his breast-
pocket a daguerreotype, and said, 'Here are my wife and daugh-
ters. I think any man might be proud of them, and they all
work for the soldiers. And then each man drew forth the inev-
itable daguerreotype, and held it for me to look at, with pride
and affection. There were aged mothers and sober matrons,
bright-eyed maidens and laughing cherubs, all carried next these
brave hearts, and cherished as life itself. Blessed art! It seems
as though it were part of God's preparation work, for this long,
cruel war.
These mute memorials of home and its loved ones
have proved the talisman of many a tempted heart, and the
solace of thousands of suffering, weary veterans. I had much
to do, and prepared to leave. I said, “Brave men, farewell!
When I go home, I'll tell them that men that never flinch before
a foe, sing hymns of praise in the rifle-pits of Vicksburg. I'll
tell them that eyes that never weep for their own suffering, over-
flow at the name of home and the sight of the pictures of their
wives and children. They'll feel more than ever that such men
cannot be conquered, and that enough cannot be done for them.'
Three cheers for the women at home, and a grasp of multitudes
of hard, honest hands, and I turned away to visit other regi-
ments. The officer who was with me, grasped my hand;
• Madam,' said he, ‘promise me you'll visit my regiment to-mor-
row-'twould be worth a victory to them. You don't know
what good a lady's visit to the army does. These men whom
you have seen to-day, will talk of your visit for six months to
Around the camp fires, in the rifle-pits, in the dark
nights or on the march, they will repeat your words, describe
your looks, your voice, your size, your dress, and all agree in one
respect, that you look like an angel, and exactly like each man's
wife or mother. Such reverence have our soldiers for upright,
come.

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
505
tender-hearted women. In the valley beneath, just having ex-
changed the front line of rifle-pits, with the regiment now occu-
pying it, encamped my son's regiment. Its ranks had been fear-
fully thinned by the terrible assaults of the 19th and 21st of
May, as they had formed the right wing of the line of battle on
that fearful day. I knew most of them personally, and as they
gathered round me and inquired after home and friends, I could
but look in sadness for many familiar faces, to be seen no more
on earth. I said, 'Boys, I was present when your colors were
presented to you by the Board of Trade. I heard your colonel
pledge himself that you would bring those colors home or cover
them with your blood, as well as glory. I want to see them, if
you have them still, after your many battles. With great alac-
rity, the man in charge of them ran into an adjoining tent, and
brought them forth, carefully wrapped in an oil-silk covering.
He drew it off and flung the folds to the breeze. "What does
this mean?' I said. "How soiled and tattered, and rent and
faded they look—I should not know them. The man who held
them said, “Why, ma'am, 'twas the smoke and balls did that.'
"Ah! so it must have been,' I said. "Well, you have covered
them with glory, but how about the blood!' A silence of a min-
ute followed, and then a low voice said, 'Four were shot down
holding them—two are dead, and two in the hospital.' Verily,
you have redeemed your pledge,' I said solemnly. “Now, boys,
sing Rally round the Flag, Boys!—and they did sing it. As it
echoed through the valley, as we stood within sight of the green
sward that had been reddened with the blood of those that had
fought for and upheld it, methought the angels might pause to
hear it, for it was a sacred song—the song of freedom to the
captive, of hope to the oppressed of all nations. Since then, it
seems almost profane to sing it with thoughtlessness or frivolity.
After a touching farewell, I stepped into the ambulance, sur-
rounded by a crowd of the brave fellows. The last sound that
reached my ears was cheers for the Sanitary Commission, and the

506
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
women at home. I soon reached the regimental hospital, where
lay the wounded color-bearers. As I entered the tent, the sur-
geon met me and said, I'm so glad you've come, for R-
has been calling for you all day. As I took his parched, fever-
ish hand, he said, 'Oh! take me home to my wife and little ones
to die.' There he lay, as noble a specimen of vigorous manhood
as I had ever looked upon. His great, broad chest heaved with
emotion, his dark eyes were brilliant with fever, his cheeks
flushed with almost the hue of health, his rich brown hair clus-
tering in soft curls over his massive forehead, it was difficult to
realize that he was entering the portals of eternity. I walked
across the tent to the doctor, and asked if he could go with me.
He shook his head, and said before midnight he would be at rest.
I shrank from his eager gaze as I approached him. What does
he say?' he asked quickly. You can't be moved.' The broad
chest rose and fell, his whole frame quivered. There was a pause
of a few minutes. He spoke first, and said, “Will you take my
message to her?' 'I will,' I said, “if I go five hundred miles to
do it. "Take her picture from under my pillow, and my chil-
dren's also. Let me see it once more.' As I held them for him,
he looked earnestly, and then said, “Tell her not to fret about
me, for we shall meet in heaven. Tell her 'twas all right that I
I don't regret it, and she must not. Tell her to train
these two little boys, that we loved so well, to go to heaven to us,
and tell her to bear my loss like a soldier's wife and a Christian.'
He was exhausted by the effort. I sat beside him till his con-
sciousness was gone, repeating God's precious promises. As th
sun went to rest that night, he slept in his Father's bosom."
Early in January, 1854, another Council of women connected
wih the Branch Commissions, Aid Societies, and general work
of Supply, assembled in Washington, and was in session three
days. Mrs. Hoge, was again a Delegate, and in relating the re-
sults of her now very large experience, helped greatly the bene-
ficial results of the Council, and harmonized all the views and
came.

MRS. A. H. HOGE.
507
action of the various branches. As before, she was listened to
with deference and attention, and we find her name mentioned in
the most appreciative manner in the Reports of the meeting. Her
remarks in regard to the value of free use of the Press, and of
advertising, in the collection of supplies for the Army, stimulated
the Commission to renewed effort in this direction, which they
had partially abandoned under the censorious criticism of some
portion of the public, who believed the money thus expended to
be literally thrown away. The result was, instead, a very large
increase of supplies.
In the two great Sanitary Fairs, which were held in Chicago,
the efforts of Mrs. Hoge were unwearied from the inception of
the idea until the close of the successful realization. Much of
this success may be directly traced to her-her practical talent,
great experience in influencing the minds and action of others,
and sound judgment, as well as good taste, producing thus their
natural results. The admirable conduct of these fairs, and the
large amounts raised by them, are matters of history.
In an address delivered at a meeting of ladies in Brooklyn,
New York, in March, 1865, Mrs. Hoge thus spoke of her work
and that of the women, who like her, had given themselves to
the duty of endeavoring to provide for the sick and suffering
soldier:
“The women of the land, with swelling hearts and uplifted
eyes asked 'Lord, what wilt thou have us to do??
The mar-
vellous organization of the United States Sanitary Commission,
with its various modes of heavenly activity, pointed out the way,
saying "The men must fight, the women must work, this is the
way, follow me.' In accepting this call, there has been no reser-
vation, Duty has been taken up, in whatever shape presented,
nothing refused that would soothe a sorrow, staunch a wound, or
heal the sickness of the humblest soldier in the ranks. Some
have drifted into positions entirely new and heretofore avoided.
They have gone forth from the bosom of their families, to visit

508
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
hospitals, camps, and battle-fields; some even to appear as we do
before you to-day, to plead for aid for our sick and wounded sol-
diers suffering and dying that we may live. The memory of their
heroism is inspiring—the recollection of their patience and long-
suffering is overwhelming. They form the most striking human
exemplification of divine meekness and submission, the world has
ever seen, and bring to mind continually the passage, “He is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.””
During the continuance of her labors, Mrs. Hoge was fre-
quently the recipient of costly and elegant gifts, as testimonials
of the respect and gratitude with which her exertions were viewed.
After a visit to the Ladies' Aid Society, of West Chester, Penn-
sylvania, she was presented by them with a testimonial, beauti-
fully engrossed upon parchment, surmounted by an exquisitely
painted Union flag.
The managers of the Philadelphia Fair, believing Mrs. Hoge
to have had an important connection with that fair, presented to
her a beautiful gift, in token of their appreciation of her services.
The Women's Relief Association, of Brooklyn, New York,
presented her an elegant silver vase.
During the second Sanitary Fair in Chicago, a few friends pre-
sented her with a beautiful silver cup, bearing a suitable inscrip-
tion in Latin, and during the same fair, she received as a gift a
Roman bell of green bronze, or verd antique, of rare workman-
ship, and value, as an object of art.
Mrs. Hoge made three expeditions to the Army of the South-
west, and personally visited and ministered to more than one
hundred thousand men in hospitals. Few among the many effi-
cient workers, which the war called from the ease and retirement
of home, can submit to the public a record of labors as efficient,
varied, and long-continued, as hers.

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
EW of the busy and active laborers in the broad field
of woman's effort during the war, have been more
widely or favorably known than Mrs. Livermore. Her
labors, with her pen, commenced with the commence-
ment of the war; and in various spheres of effort, were faithfully
and energetically given to the cause of the soldier and humanity,
until a hard-won peace had once more “perched upon our ban-
ners," and the need of them, at least in that specific direction, no
longer existed.
Mrs. Livermore is a native of Boston, where her childhood
and girlhood were passed. At fourteen years of age she was a
medal scholar of the “Hancock School,” of that city, and three
years later, she graduated from the “Charlestown (Mass)., Female
Seminary,” when she became connected with its Board of In-
struction, as Teacher of Latin, French and Italian. With the
exception of two years spent in the south of Virginia,—whence
she returned an uncompromising anti-slavery woman-her home
was in Boston until her marriage, to Rev. D. P. Livermore, after
which she resided in its near vicinity, until twelve years ago,
when with her husband and children she removed West. For
the last ten years she has been a resident of Chicago. Her hus-
band is now editor of the New Covenant, a paper published in
Chicago, Illinois, in advocacy of Universalist sentiments, and, at
the same time, of those measures of reform, which tend to elevate
509

510
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
and purify erring and sinful huinan nature. Of this paper Mrs.
Livermore is associate editor.
Mrs. Livermore is a woman of remarkable talent, and in cer-
tain directions even of genius, as the history of her labors in con-
nection with the war amply evinces. Her energy is great, and
her executive ability far beyond the average. She is an able
writer, striking and picturesque in description, and strong and
"touching in appeal. She has a fine command of language, and in
her conversation or her addresses to assemblies of ladies, one may
at once detect the tone and ease of manner of a woman trained
to pencraft. She is the author of several books, mostly poems,
essays or stories, and is recognized as a member of the literary
guild. The columns of her husband's paper furnished her the
opportunity she desired of addressing her patriotic appeals to the
coinmunity, and her vigorous pen was ever at work both in its
columns, and those of the other papers that were open to her.
During the whole war, even in the busiest times, not a week was
passed that she did not publish somewhere two or three columns
at the least. Letters, incidents, appeals, editorial correspondence,
-always something useful, interesting-head and hands were
always busy, and the small implement, "mightier than the
sword” was never allowed to rust unused in the ink-stand.
Before us, as we write, lies an article published in the New
Covenant of May 18th, 1861, and as we see written scarcely a
month after the downfall of Fort Sumter. It is entitled “Wo-
man and the War," and shows how, even at that early day, the
patriotism of American women was bearing fruit, and how keenly
and sensitively the writer appreciated our peril.
“But no less have we been surprised and moved to admiration
by the regeneration of the women of our land.
and we saw a large class, aspiring only to be 'leaders of fashion,'
and belles of the ball-room, their deepest anxiety clustering about
the fear that the gored skirts, and bell-shaped hoops of the spring
mode might not be becoming, and their highest happiness being
A month ago

MRS. MARY A. LIVERIORE.
511
found in shopping, polking, and the schottisch--pretty, petted,
useless, expensive butterflies, whose future husbands and children
were to be pitied and prayed for. But to-day, we find them
lopping off superilvities, retrenching expenditures, deaf to the
calls of pleasure, or the mandates of fashion, swept by the incom-
ing patriotism of the time to the loftiest height of womanhood,
willing to do, to bear, or to suffer for the beloved country. The
riven fetters of caste and conventionality have dropped at their
feet, and they sit together, patrician and plebeian, Catholic and
Protestant, and make garments for the poorly-clad soldiery. An
order came to Burton for five thousand shirts for the Massachusetts
troops at the South. Every church in the city sent a delegation
of needle-women to 'Union Hall,' a former aristocratic ball-room
of Boston; the Catholic priest detailed five hundred sewing-girls
to the pious work; suburban towns rang the bell to muster the
seamstresses; the patrician Protestant of Beacon Street ran the
sewing-machine, while the plebeian Irish Catholic of Broad
Street basted and the shirts were done at the rate of a thousand
a day. On Thursday, Miss Dix sent an order for five hundred
shirts for the hospital at Washington—on Friday they were ready.
And this is but one instance, in one city, similar events transpir-
ing in every other large city.
“But the patriotism of the Northern women has been developed
in a nobler and more touching manner. We can easily under-
stand how men, catching the contagion of war, fired with enthu-
siasm, led on by the inspiriting trains of martial music, and
feeling their quarrel to be just, can march to the cannon's mouth,
where the iron hail rains thickest, and the ranks are mowed down
like grain in harvest. But for women to send forth their hus-
bands, sons and brothers to the horrid chances of war, bidding
them
many a tearful 'good-by' and 'God bless you,' to
see them, perhaps, no more—this calls for another sort of hero-
ism. Only women can understand the fierce struggle, and ex
go
with

512
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
quisite suffering this sacrifice involves—and which has already
been made by thousands.”
The inception of that noble work, and noble monument of
American patriotism, the United States Sanitary Commission,
had its date in the early days of the war. We find in all the
editorial writings of Mrs. Livermore, for the year 1861, constant
warm allusions to this organization and its work, which show how
strongly it commended itself to her judgment, how deeply she
was interested in its workings, and how her heart was stirred by
an almost uncontrollable impulse to become actively engaged with
all her powers in the work.
In the New Covenant for December 18, 1861, we find over the
signature of Mrs. Livermore, an earnest appeal to the women of
the North west for aid, in furnishing Hospital supplies for the
army. A “Sanitary Committee," had been formed in Chicago,
to co-operate with the United States Sanitary Commission, which
had opened an office, and was prepared to receive and forward
supplies. These were designed to be sent, almost exclusively, to
Western hospitals, and a Soldiers' Festival was at that time being
held for the purpose of collecting aid, and raising funds for this
Committee, to use in its charitable work.
This Committee did not long preserve a separate existence.
About the beginning of the year 1862, the Northwestern branch
of the United States Sanitary Commission was organized at Chi-
cago, composed of some of the leading and most influential citi-
zens of that city, and others in the Northwestern States. It at
once became a power in the land, an instrument of almost incal-
culable good
Soon afterward, Mrs. Livermore, and Mrs. A. H. Hoge, one
of the most earnest, able and indefatigable of the women work-
ing in connection with the Sanitary Commission, and a resident
of Chicago, were appointed agents of the Northwestern Commis-
vion, and immediately commenced their labors.
The writer is not aware that a complete and separate sketch of

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
513
either the joint or individual labors of these ladies exists. For
the outline of those of Mrs. Livermore, dependence is mostly
made upon her communications to the New Covenant, and other
Journals—upon articles not written with the design of furnish-
ing information of personal effort, so much, as to give such state-
inents of the soldier's need, and of the various efforts in that
direction, as together with appeals, and exhortations to renewed
benevolence and sacrifice, might best keep the public mind con-
stantly stimulated and excited to fresh endeavor.
Running through these papers, we find everywhere evidences
of the intense loyalty of this gifted woman, and also of the deep
and equally outspoken scorn with which she regarded every evi-
dence of treasonable opinion, or of sympathy with secession, on
the part of army leaders, or the civil authorities. The reader
will remember the repulse experienced in the winter of 1861-2,
by the Hutchinsons, those sweet singers, whose “voices have ever
been heard chanting the songs of Freedom—always lifted in
harmonious accord in support of every good and noble cause.'
Mrs. Livermore's spirit was stirred by the story of their wrongs,
and thus in keenest sarcasm, she gave utterance to her scorn of
this weak and foolish deed of military tyrants encamping a winter
through, before empty forts and Quaker guns, while they ven-
tured only to make war upon girls: “While the whole country has
been waiting in breathless suspense for six months, each one of
which has seemed an eternity to the loyal people of the North,
for the 'grand forward movement' of the army, which is to cut
the Gordian knot of the rebellion, and perform unspeakable pro-
digies, not lawful for man to utter, a backward movement has
been executed on the banks of the Potomac, by the valiant com-
manders there stationed, for which none of us were prepared. No
person, even though his imagination possessed a seven-leagued-
boot-power of travel, could have anticipated the last great exploit
of our generals, whose energies thus far, have been devoted to
the achieving of a 'masterly inactivity. The 'forward move-

514
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
ment' has receded and receded, like the cup of Tantalus, but the
backward movement came suddenly upon us, like a thief in the
night."
“The Hutchinson family, than whom no sweeter songsters glad-
den this sorrow-darkened world, have been singing in Washing-
ton, to the President, and to immense audiences, everywhere give
ing unmixed delight. Week before last they obtained a pass to
the camps the other side of the Potomac, with the laudable pur-
pose of spending a month among them, cheering the hearts of
the soldiers, and enlivening the monotonous and barren camp life
with their sweet melody. But they ventured to sing a patriotic
song—a beautiful song of Whittier's, which gave offense to a few
semi-secessionists among the officers of the army, for which they
were severely reprimanded by Generals Franklin and Kearny,
their pass revoked by General McClellan, and they driven back
to Washington. A backward movement was ordered instanter,
and no sooner ordered, than executed. Brave Franklin ! heroic
Kearny! victorious McClellan! why did ye not order a Te Deum
on the occasion of this great victory over a band of Vermont
minstrels, half of whom were-girls! How must the hearts of
the illustrious West-Pointers have pit-a-patted with joy, and di-
lated with triumph, as they saw the Hutchinson troupe-Asa B.,
and Lizzie C., little Dennett and Freddy, naive Viola, melodeon
and all—scampering back through the mud, bowed beneath the
weight of their military displeasure! Per contra to this expul-
sion, be it remembered that it occurred within sight of the resi-
dence of a family, in which there are some five or six young
iadies, who, it is alleged, have been promised "passes” to go
South whenever they are disposed to do so,—carrying, of course,
all the information they can for the enemy. The bands of the
regiments are also sent to serenade them, and on these occasions
orders are given to suppress the national airs, as being offensive
to these traitors in crinoline.”
During the year 1862, Mrs. Livermore, besides the constant

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
515
flow of communications from her pen, visited the army at various
points, and in company with her friend, Mrs. Hoge, travelled
over the Northwestern states, organizing numerous Aid Societies
among the women of those states, who were found everywhere
anxious for the privilege of working for the soldiers, and only
desirous of knowing how best to accomplish this purpose, and
through what channel they might best forward their benefactions.
In December of that year, the Sanitary Commission called a
council, or convention of its members and branches at Washing-
ton, desiring that every Branch Commission in the North should
be represented by at least two ladies thoroughly acquainted with
its workings, who had been connected with it from the first.
Mrs. Hoge and Mrs. Livermore were appointed by the Chicago
Branch.
They accordingly proceeded to Washington—a long and ardu-
ous journey in mid winter, but these were not women to grudge
toil or sacrifice, nor to shrink from duty.
Both these ladies had laid their talents upon the altar of the
cause in which they were engaged, and both felt the pressing
necessity at that time of a determined effort to relieve the fright-
ful existing need. Sanitary supplies were decidedly on the
decrease, while the demand for their increase was most piteously
pressing. There was a strong call for the coming "council” of
friends.
There were hindrances and delays. Delay at starting, in
taking a regiment on board the cars, necessitating other delays,
and waiting for trains on time through the whole distance.
The days spent in Washington were filled with good deeds,
and a thousand incidents all connected in some way with the
great work. Of the results of that council, the public was long
since informed, and few who were interested in the work, did not
learn to appreciate the more earnest labor, the greater sacrifice and
self-devotion which soon spread from it thrcugh the country.
Spirits, self-consecrated to so holy a work, could scarcely meet

516
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
without the kindling of a flame that should spread all over the
country, till every tender woman's heart, in all the land, had
been touched by it, to the accomplishment of greater and brighter
deeds.
While in Washington, Mrs. Livermore spent a day at the camp
near Alexandria, set apart for convalescents from the hospitals,
and known as “Camp Misery.” The suffering there, as we have
already stated in the sketch of Miss Amy M. Bradley's labors,
was terrible from insufficient food, clothing and fuel, from want
of drainage, and many other causes, any one of which might
well have proved fatal to the feeble sufferers there crowded
together. The pen of Mrs. Livermore carried the story of these
wrongs all around the land. While she was in Washington,
eighteen half sick soldiers died at the camp in one night, from
cold and starvation. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of
the church,” and the blood of these soaking into the soil where
dwelt patriotic, warm-souled men and women, presently produced
a noble growth and fruitage of charity, and sacrifice, and blessed
deeds.
Mrs. Livermore has given her impressions of the President,
gained from a visit made to the White House during this stay.
She was one capable fully of appreciating the noble, simple, yet
lofty nature of Abraham Lincoln.
Early in this year, Mrs. Livermore made a tour of the hospi-
tals and military posts scattered along the Mississippi river. She
was everywhere a messenger of good tidings. Sanitary supplies
and cheering words seem to have been always about equally ap-
preciated among the troops. Volunteers, fresh from home, and
the quiet comfort of domestic life, willing to fight, and if need
be die for the glorious idea of freedom, they yet had no thought
of war as a profession. It was a sad, stern incident in their
lives, but not the life they longed for, or meant to follow. Any-
thing that was like home, the sight of a woman's face, or the
sound of her voice, and all the sordid hardness of their present

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
517
lives, all the martial pageantry faded away, and they remembered
only that they were sons, brothers, husbands and fathers. Every-
where her reception was a kind, a respectful, and even a grateful
one.
There was much sickness among the troops, and the fearful
ravages of scurvy and the deadly malaria of the swamps and
bottom-lands along the great river were enemies far more to be
dreaded than the thunder of artillery, or the hurtling shells.
During this trip she found in the hospitals, at St. Louis, and
elsewhere, large numbers of female nurses, and ladies who had
volunteered to perform these services temporarily. The surgeons
were at that time, almost without exception, opposed to their being
employed in the hospitals, though their services were afterwards,
as the need increased, greatly desired and warmly welcomed.
For these she soon succeeded in finding opportunities for render-
ing the service which they desired to the sick and wounded.
Were it possible in the space allowed for this sketch, to give a
tithe of the incidents which came under the eyes of Mrs. Liver-
more, or even a small portion of her observations in steamer, train,
or hospital, some idea of the magnitude and importance of her
work might be gained. But this we cannot do, and must content
ourselves with this partial allusion to her constant and indefati-
gable labors.
The premonitory symptoms of scurvy in the camps around
Vicksburg, and its actual existence in many cases in the hospitals,
so aroused the sympathies of Mrs. Livermore and Mrs. Hoge, on
a second visit to these camps, that after warning General Grant
of the danger which his medical directors had previously con-
cealed from him, these two ladies hastened up the river, and by
their earnest appeals and their stirring and eloquent circulars
asking for onions, potatoes, and other vegetables, they soon awak-
ened such an interest, that within three weeks, over a thousand
bushels of potatoes and onions were forwarded to the army, and
by their timely distribution saved it from imminent peril.

518
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
In the autumn of 1863, the great Northwestern Sanitary Fair,
the first of that series of similar fairs which united the North in
a bond of large and wide-spread charity, occurred. It was Mrs.
Livermore who suggested and planned the first fair, which netted
almost one hundred thousand dollars to the Sanitary Commission.
Mrs. Hoge, had at first, no confidence in the project, but she after-
ward joined it, and giving it her earnest aid, helped to carry it to
a successful conclusion. It was indeed a giant plan, and it may
be chiefly credited, from its inception to its fortunate close, to
these indefatigable and skilful workers. The writer of this sketch
was present at the convention of women of the Northwest called
to meet at Chicago, and consider the feasibility of the project, and
was forcibly impressed with the great and real power, the concen-
trated moral force, contained in that meeting, and left its doorg
without one doubt of the complete and ultimate success of the plan
discussed. Mrs. Livermore held there a commanding position.
A brilliant and earnest speaker, her words seemed to sway the
attentive throng. Her commanding person, added to the power
of her words. Gathered upon the platform of Bryan Hall, were
Mrs. Hoge, Mrs. Colt, of Milwaukee, and many more, perhaps
less widely known, but bearing upon their faces and in their atti-
tudes, the impress of cultured minds, and an earnest active
resolve to do, which seemed to insure success.
Mrs. Livermore,
seated below the platform, from time to time passed among the
crowd, and her suggestions whether quietly made to individuals,
or given in her clear ringing voice, and well selected language to
the convention, were everywhere received with respect and defer-
As all know, this fair which was about three months in
course of preparation, was on a mammoth scale, and was a great
success, and this result was no doubt greatly owing to the presence
of that quality, which like every born leader, Mrs. Livermore
evidently possesses—that of knowing how to select judiciously,
the subordinates and instruments to be employed to carry out the
plans which have originated in her mind.
ence.

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
519
When this fair had been brought to a successful close, Mrs.
Livermore returned to the particular work of her agency.
When
not traveling on the business connected with it, she spent many
busy days at the rooms of the Commission in Chicago. The his-
tory of some of those days she has written—a history full of
pathos and illuminated with scores of examples of noble and
worthy deeds—of the sacrifices of hard-worked busy women for
the soldiers—of tender self-sacrificing wives concealing poverty
and sorrow, and swallowing bitter tears, and whispering no word
of sorrows nard to bear, that the husband, far away fighting for
his country, might never know of their sufferings; of the small
hut fervently offered alms of little children, of the anguish of
parents waiting the arrival through this channel of tidings of their
wounded or their dead; of heroic nurses going forth to their sad
labors in the hospitals, with their lives in their hands, or return-
ing in their coffins, or with broken health, the sole reward, beside
the soldiers' thanks, for all their devotion.
Journey after journey Mrs. Livermore made, during the next
in
pursuance of her mission, till her name and person
were familiar not only in the camps and hospitals of the great
West, but in the assemblies of patriotic women in the Eastern
and Middle States. And all the time the tireless pen paused not
in its blessed work.
In the spring of 1865, another fair was in contemplation. As
before, Mrs. Livermore visited the Eastern cities, for the purpose
of obtaining aid in her project, and as before was most successful.
In pursuance of this object, she made a flying visit to Wash-
ington, her chief purpose being to induce the President to attend
the fair, and add the éclat of his presence and that of Mrs. Lin-
coln, to the brilliant occasion. An account of her interview with
him whom she was never again to see in life, which, with her
impressions of his character, we gain from her correspondence
with the New Covenant, is appended.
“Our first effort was to obtain an interview with the President
two years,

520
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
and Mrs. Lincoln—and this, by the way, is usually the first effori,
of all new comers. We were deputized to invite our Chief Magis-
trate to attend the great Northwestern Fair, to be held in May--
and this was our errand. With the escort of a Senator, whe
takes precedence of all other visitors, it is very easy to obtain ar
interview with the President, and as we were favored in this
respect, we were ushered into the audience chamber without much
delay. The President received us kindly, as he does all wlio
approach him. He was already apprised of the fair, and spoke
of it with much interest, and with a desire to attend it. He
gave
us a most laughable account of his visit to the Philadelphia Fair,
when, as he expressed it, "for two miles it was all people, where
it wasn't houses,' and where he actually feared he should be
pulled from the carriage windows. We notified him that he
must be prepared for a still greater crowd in Chicago, as the
whole Northwest would come out to shake hands with him, and
told him that a petition for his attendance at the fair, was in
circulation, that would be signed by ten thousand women of Chi-
cago. But,' said he, 'what do you suppose my wife will at
ten thousand ladies coming after me in that style?' We assured
him that the invitation included Mrs. Lincoln also, when he
laughed heartily, and promised attendance, if State duties did not
absolutely forbid. “It would be wearisome,' he said, but it
would gratify the people of the Northwest, and so he would try
to come—and he thought by that time, circumstances would
per-
mit his undertaking a short tour West.' This was all that we
could ask, or expect.
“We remained for some time, watching the crowds that surge
through the spacious apartments, and the President's reception of
them. Where they entered the room indifferently, and gazed at
him as if he were a part of the furniture, or gave him simply a
mechanical nod of the head, he allowed them to pass on, as they
elected. But where he was met by a warm grasp of the hand, a
look of genuine friendliness, of grateful recognition or of tearful
say,

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE.
521
tenderness, the President's look and manner answered the expres-
sion entirely. To the lowly and the humble he was especially
kind; his worn face took on a look of exquisite tenderness, as he
shook hands with soldiers who carried an empty coat sleeve, or
swung themselves on crutches; and not a child was allowed to
pass him by without a kind word from him. A bright boy,
about the size and age of the son he had buried, was going
directly by, without appearing even to see the President. “Stop,
my little man,' said Mr. Lincoln, laying his hand on his shoulder,
‘aren't you going to speak to me? And stooping down, he took
the child's hands in his own, and looked lovingly in his face,
chatting with him for some moments.”
The plans of Mrs. Livermore in regard to the fair were carried
out—with one sad exception. It was a much greater success pe-
cuniarily than the first. And the war was over, and it was the last
time that wounded soldiers would call for aid. But alas! the great
and good man whose presence she had coveted lay cold in death!
She had promised him “days of rest” when he should come, and
long ere then, he had entered his eternal rest, and all that remained
of him had been carried through those streets, decked in mourning.
Like her friend, Mrs. Hoge, Mrs. Livermore was cheered dur-
ing her labors by testimonials of appreciation from her co-labor-
ers, and of gratitude from the brave men for whom she toiled.
An exquisite silver vase was sent her by the Women's Relief
Association, of Brooklyn, the counterpart of that sent Mrs. Hoge
at the same time. From her co-workers in the last Sanitary Fair,
she also received a gold-lined silver goblet, and a verd-antique
Roman bell—the former bearing this complimentary inscription,
“Poculum qui meruit fuit.” But the gifts most prized by her are
the comparatively inexpensive testimonials made by the soldiers
to whom she ministered. At one time she rejoiced in the posses-
sion of fourteen photograph albums, in every style of binding,
each one emblazoned with a frontispiece of the maimed or ema-
ciated soldier who gave it.


LADIES DISTINGUISHED FOR OTHER SERVICES IN THE NATIONAL
CAUSE.


MRS. ANNIE ETHERIDGE.
N
O woman attached to a regiment, as vivandiére, canti-
niére, or fille du regiment (we use the French terms
because we have no English ones which fully corres-
pond to them), during the recent war, has won so high
and pure a renown as Annie Etheridge. Placed in circumstances
of peculiar moral peril, her goodness and purity of character were
50 strongly marked that she was respected and beloved not only
by all her own regiment, but by the brigade division and corps
to which that regiment belonged, and so fully convinced were
the officers from the corps commander down, of her usefulness
and faithfulness in the care of the wounded, that at a time when
a peremptory order was issued from the headquarters of the army
that all women, whatever their position or services should leave
the camp, all the principal field officers of the corps to which her
regiment was attached united in a petition to the general-in-
chief, that an exception might be made in her favor.
The greater part of Annie Etheridge's childhood was passed
in Wisconsin. Her father was a man of considerable property,
and her girlhood was passed in case and luxury; but as she drew
near the age of womanhood, he met with misfortunes by which
he lost nearly all he had possessed, and returned to her former
home in Michigan. Annie remained in Wisconsin, where she had
married, but was on a visit to her father in Detroit at the out-
break of the war, and joined the Second Michigan Regiment
when they departed for the seat of war, to fulfil the office of a
525

526
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
daughter of the regiment, in attending to its sick and wounded.
When that regiment was sent to Tennessee she went to the Third
Regiment in which she had many friends, and was with them in
every battle in which they were engaged. When their three
years' service was completed, she with the re-enlisted veterans
joined the Fifth Michigan. Through this whole period of more
than four years' service she conducted herself with such modesty
and propriety, and was at the same time so full of patriotism and
courage, that she was a universal favorite with the soldiers as
well as officers.
She was in the skirmish of Blackburn's Ford, and subsequently
in the first battle of Bull Run, where she manifested the same
courage and presence of mind which characterized her in all her
subsequent career in the army. She never carried a musket,
though she had a pair of pistols in her holsters, but seldom or
never used them. She was for a time during the winter follow-
ing engaged in hospital service, and when the Army of the
Potomac went to the Peninsula, during the Chickahominy cam-
paign she was on a hospital transport with Miss Amy M.
Bradley, and rendered excellent service there. She was a very
tender and careful nurse, and seemed to know instinctively
what to do for the sick and wounded. She returned to Alexan-
dria with her regiment, and was with them at the second battle
of Bull Run, on the 29th of August, 1862. Early in this battle
she was on a portion of the battle-field which had been warmly
contested, where there was a rocky ledge, under shelter of which,
some of the wounded had crawled. Annie lingered behind the
troops, as they changed position, assisted several poor helpless
fellows to this cover and dressed their wounds. One of these
was William of the Seventh New York Infantry, a noble-
looking boy, to whose parched lips she had held the cooling
draught, and had bound up his wounds, receiving in return a
look of unutterable gratitude from his bright blue eyes, and his
faintly murmured “God's blessing on you,” when a shot from

ANNIE ETHERITGE.
527
the rebel battery tore him to pieces under her very hands. Sho
discovered at the same moment that the rebels were near, and
almost upon her, and she was forced to follow in the directicn
taken by her regiment. On another portion of that bloody field,
Annie was kneeling by the side of a soldier binding up his
wounds, when hearing a gruff voice above her, she looked up and
to her astonishment saw General Kearny checking his horse
beside her. He said, “That is right; I am glad to see you here
helping these poor fellows, and when this is over, I will have
you made a regimental sergeant;” meaning of course that she
should receive a sergeant's pay and rations. But two days later
the gallant Kearny was killed at Chantilly, and Annie never
received the appointment, as has been erroneously asserted.
At Chancellorsville on the 2d of May, 1863, when the Third
Corps were in such extreme peril, in consequence of the panic by
which the Eleventh Corps were broken up, one company of the
Third Michigan, and one of the sharp-shooters were detailed as
skirmishers. Annie, although advised to remain in the rear
accompanied them, taking the lead; meeting her colonel however,
he told her to go back, as the enemy was near, and he was every
moment expecting an attack. Very loth to fall back, she turned
and rode along the front of a line of shallow trenches filled with
our men; she called to them, “Boys, do your duty and whip the
rebels.” The men partially rose and cheered her, shouting
“Hurrah for Annie,” “Bully for you.” This revealed their
position to the rebels, who immediately fired a volley in the
direction of the cheering; Annie rode to the rear of the line,
then turned to see the result; as she did so, an officer pushed his
horse between her and a large tree by which she was waiting,
thus sheltering himself behind her. She looked round at him
with surprise, when a second volley was fired, and a Minié ball
whizzing by her, entered the officer's body, and he fell a corpse,
against her and then to the ground. At the same moment an-
other ball grazed her hand, (the only wound she received during

528
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the war), pierced her dress, the skirt of which she was holding,
and slightly wounded her horse. Frightened by the pain, he set
off on a run through a dense wood, winding in and out among
the trees so rapidly that Annie feared being torn from her saddle
by the branches, or having her brains dashed out by violent con.
tact with the trunks. She raised herself upon the saddle, and
crouching on her knees clung to the pommel. The frightened
animal as lle emerged from the woods plunged into the midst of
the Eleventh Corps, when his course was soon checked. Many
of the men, recognizing Annie, received her with cheers. As she
was now at a distance from her regiment, she felt a strong impulse
to see and speak with General Berry, the commander of her
division, with whom she was well acquainted. Meeting an aid,
she asked where the General was. “He is not here,” replied the
aid. “He is here," replied Annie; “He is my Division General,
and has command on the right to-day. I must see him.” The
aid turned his horse and rode up to the General, who was near at
hand, and told him that a woman was coming up who insisted
on seeing him. “It is Annie," said General Berry, "let her
come; let her come, I would risk my life for Annie, any time."
As she approached from one side, a prisoner was brought up on
the other, said to be an aid of General Hill's. After some words
with him, and receiving his sword, the General sent him to the
rear; and after giving Annie a cordial greeting and some kind
words, he put the prisoner under her charge, directing him to
walk by her horse. It was her last interview with the brave
General. Early the next morning he was slain, in the desperate
fight for the possession of the plank road past the Chancellor
House. In the neighborhood of the hospital, Annie, working as
usual among the wounded, discovered an artillery man badly
injured and very much in need of her assistance.
She bound up
his wounds and succeeded in having him brought to the hospital.
The batteries were not usually accompanied by surgeons, and
their men were often very much neglected, when wounded, as the

ANNIE ETHERIDGE.
529
Infantry Surgeons with their hands full with their own wounded
would not, and perhaps could not, always render them speedy
assistance. A year later Annie received the following letter,
which was found on the body of a Lieutenart Strachan, of her
division, who was killed in one of the early battles of Grant's
campaigu.
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 14th, 1864.
ANNIE-Dearest Friend: I am not long for this world, and I wish to thank
you
for
your
kindness ere I go.
You were the only one who was ever kind to me, since I entered the Army.
At Chancellorsville, I was shot through the body, the ball entering my side,
and coming out through the shoulder. I was also hit in the arm, and was car-
ried to the hospital in the woods, where I lay for hours, and not a surgeon
would touch me; when you came along and gave me water, and bound up my
wounds. I do not know what regiment you belong to, and I don't know if this
will ever reach you. There is only one man in your division that I know. I
will try and send this to him; his name is Strachan, orderly sergeant in Sixty-
third Pennsylvania volunteers.
But should you get this, please accept my heartfelt gratitude; and may God
bless you, and protect you from all dangers; may you be eminently successful
in your present pursuit. I enclose a flower, a present from a sainted mother; it
is the only gift I have to send you. Had I a picture, I would send you one;
but I never had but two, one my sister has; the other, the sergeant I told you
of; he would give it you, if you should tell him it is my desire. I know noth-
ing of your history, but I hope you always have, and always may be happy;
and, since I will be unable to see you in this world, I hope I may meet you in
that better world, where there is no war. May God bless you, both now and
forever, is the wish of your grateful friend,
GEORGE H. HILL,
CLEVELAND, OHIO.
During the battle of Spottsylvania, Annie met a number of
soldiers retreating. She expostulated with them, and at last
shamed them into doing their duty, by offering to lead them back
into the fight, which she did under a heavy fire from the enemy.
She had done the same thing more than once on other battle-
fields, not by flourishing a sword or rifle, for she carried neither:
ror by waving a flag, for she was never color-bearer; but by
inspiring the men to deeds of valor by her own example, her

530
WOMAN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.
courage, and her presence of mind. On the 1st or 2nd of June,
when the Second Corps attacked the enemy at Deep Bottom,
Annie became separated from her regiment, and with her usual
attendant, the surgeon's orderly, who carried the “pill box” (the
medicine chest), she started in search of it, and before long, with-
out being aware of the fact, she had passed beyond the line of
Union pickets. Here she met an officer, apparently reconnoiter-
ing, who told her she must turn back, as the enemy was near ;
and hardly were the words spoken, when their skirmishers
suddenly appeared. The officer struck his spurs into his horse
and fled, Annie and the orderly following with all speed, and
arrived safe within our lines. As the Rebels hoped to surprise
our troops, they did not fire lest they should give the alarm; and
to this fact Annie probably owed her escape unscathed.
On the 27th of October, 1864, in one of the battles for the
possession of Hatcher's Run and the Boydtown Plank Road, a
portion of the Third Division of the Second Corps, was nearly
surrounded by the enemy, in what the soldiers called the “Bull
Ring.” The regiment to which Annie was attached was sorely
pressed, the balls flying thick and fast, so that the surgeon advised
her to accompany him to safer quarters; but she lingered, watch-
ing for an opportunity to render assistance. A little drummer
boy stopped to speak to her, when a ball struck him, and he fell
against her, and then to the ground, dead. This so startled her,
that she ran towards the line of battle. But to her surprise, she
found that the enemy occupied every part of the ground held a
few moments before by Union troops. She did not pause, how-
ever, but dashed through their line unhurt, though several of the
chivalry fired at her.
So strong was the confidence of the soldiers in her courage and
fidelity to her voluntarily assumed duties, that whenever a battle
was to be fought it was regarded as absolutely certain that
"Gentle Annie” (so the soldiers named her) would be at hand to
render assistance to any in need. General Birney never per.

ANNIE ETHERIDGE.
531
formed an act more heartily approved by his entire command,
than when in the presence of his troops, he presented her with
the Kearny cross.
At the close of the war, though her health had been somewhat
shaken by her varied and trying experiences, she felt the necessity
of engaging in some employment, by which she could maintain
herself, and aid her aged father, and accepted an appointment in
one of the Government departments, where she labors assiduously
for twelve hours daily. Her army experiences have not robbed
her of that charming modesty and diffidence of demeanor, which
are so attractive in a woman, or made her boastful of her adven-
tures. To these she seldom alludes, and never in such a way as
to indicate that she thinks herself in the least a heroine.




c2 Brockett, L. P. (Linus
Pierpont)
37897
Gift of:
Amy Rosenberg
1894
Br