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VOLUNTEER PHILANTHROPY.
A PABEB BEAD BEEOBE
THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CONGRESS,
HELD
IN THE CITY OE YORK,
DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1864. "’ k..
BY
EDMUND CRISP FISHER.
LONDON:
WILLIAM RIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY.
1864.
��MILITARY DISCIPLINE *
AND VOLUNTEER PHILANTHROPY.
Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen :
It will be difficult to find two principles
more seemingly antagonistic than Military Disci
pline and V olunteer Philanthropy. The Discipline
necessary for the cohesion and effectiveness of
armies proceeds from set rules framed upon the
experience of long years: it is cold, impassive,
unimpulsive, non-eclectic, autocratic, tyrannical; it
robs man of his individuality, deprives him of free
will—and looking only at the end to be attained,
treats the soldier as a simple part of a great
machine, to be strained, forced, and overwrought,
if needs be, and cast aside when worn out or other
wise incapacitated. Reverse the position in all its
several particulars, and we have the most distant and
opposite end of a far-stretching diagonal,—Volunteer
Philanthropy. What the commander of an army
is in presence of the enemy, the physician and
surgeon are in the sick chamber. The same law
governs both their orders—the law of absolute,
perfect, unhesitating obedience. Combine the two,
clothe the medical professor in the garb and rank
of the soldier, and you have the domineering, auto
cratic Army Surgeon, whose word is law, and with
A 2
�4
whom suggestion even becomes interference, and
almost dictation.
To the mere theorist, the Medical Staff of Armies
would appear to be all that is necessary to insure
the greatest possible effectiveness of the soldier,
covering him, so to speak, with defensive armour
against disease and wounds, and enabling him, with
the minimum of danger to himself, to inflict the
utmost damage upon his antagonist. But the dis
cipline of his dual profession, or, to be exact, of
his military capacity, deprives the army-surgeon
in a great degree of those advantages accruing
from the discoveries of science which become imme
diately known, and are as immediately investigated
and adopted by members of the civil branch of his
profession. Every thing connected with armies is
precised in fixed regulations; “ it is written,” is
the answer to every proposal for change; the spirit
of inquiry is checked and nullified, and innovation
is studiously guarded against as imperiling routine
and subversive of discipline. On the battle-field,
or in hospital, in his twin capacity of physician
and surgeon, the army medical man has difficulties
to contend with unknown to the civil branch of his
profession. In action he is overworked, and his
aids are far too few ofttimes to render him even
necessary assistance; in hospital he is bound down
to his fixed code of regulations; newly-discovered
remedies are not furnished by the medical purveyor,
and radical change in treatment has first to receive
j
I
�5
the endorsement of his superior officer. Frequently
—shall I not say generally?—his operations are
in a new and unexplored field, where diseases
of novel type require lengthy research and investi
gation before the proper treatment is discovered;
or the same class of disease under different condi
tions of climate and contingent circumstances, pro
duces new phases in the patient’s symptoms. He
is, in fact, isolated from most of the advantages
which the great body of the profession enjoys, and
the sick and wounded in his charge—the chief
consideration, after all—are by so much less fortu
nate than the suffering in civil life.
It was the knowledge of these facts which led to
the appointment of the Sanitary Commission in the
British Army during the Crimean war, but it is
open to question whether such a Commission would
have been permitted to exist if Miss Florence
Nightingale and her co-labourers had not proved
conclusively that volunteer assistance need in no
way interfere with military discipline—the first
consideration among soldiers,—and that it could be
of real practical benefit to the medical branch of the
army, when their respective spheres of action were
properly defined. Addressing itself to the Medical
Staff alone, subordinating its every movement in
the field and hospital to the wishes and wants of
that Staff; culling its experience in every region;
bound down by no fixed rules or inflexible regula
tions, the Sanitary Commission might become a
�6
valuable supplementary power in the army, and an
unfailing- reliance of the army medical officer. Its
true arena is recommendatory, its researches are in
the first degree eclectic, and it brings the entire force
of the whole outside medical profession to bear upon
the health of the soldier. The Medical Staff cannot
but gain by advice tendered from so high and dis
interested a source, and it has no cause to fear for
its own authority, when the action of the Commis
sion is purely advisory and guardedly consonant
with the most rigid discipline. Military Discipline,
in fine, calls to its aid the Volunteer Philanthropy
of the entire nation, and Volunteer Philanthropy di
vests itself of all things savouring of dictation, and,
confining itself to suggestion, submits in its turn to
discipline.
All history and experience prove that Army Me
dical Staffs, no matter how thoroughly and exten
sively organized, are sadly deficient at critical
moments. The world is accustomed to look at the
French nation as the military Power, par excellence,
of Europe; everything appertaining to armies, to
the utmost efficiency of the soldier, is there reduced
to method and rule, until the art of war is so tho
roughly investigated, and its rules, as it were, so
completely averaged, that the art has become almost
an exact science. Yet with the experiences of the
battle-fields of Solferino and Magenta before us,
where the wounded lay for hours, yea, days, without
assistance, who will say that the best organized
�7
Medical Staff fulfils the requirements expected of
it ? Such Staffs are really designed for the ordinary
routine of military life, and, to some extent, for the
average amount of extra casualties entailed by
battle; but a more than ordinary sanguinary engage
ment and lengthy pursuit of the foe may upset the
best calculations, and render an otherwise effective
Staff utterly inefficient. It was the knowledge of
this fact, gained on the field of Solferino, which led
a citizen of Geneva to attempt the formation of an
Universal Sanitary Commission. With the grand
proposal of Monsieur Henri Dunant it is neither
my province nor purpose to deal; but whether he
succeed or fail in his enterprise, he will at all events
have drawn the attention of the Governments and
People of Europe to a subject of momentous interest,
earning for himself and his coadjutors the proud
title of benefactors of the soldier.
At an early period in the history of the civil war
in the United States, the citizens of the North recog
nized the necessity of supplementing- the Army
Medical Staff. The movement commenced with the
women, and took the form of preparing lint and
bandages for the hospitals; but it was soon dis
covered that vastly more would be required by
the enormous force about to be put in the field,
and that much really valuable assistance might be
rendered by voluntary philanthropy. Two ques
tions presented themselves for solution:—Firstly,
what kind of aid would be accepted by the War
�8
Department
secondly, how could that assistance
he rendered without infringement of military disci
pline, so as to be acceptable to the Medical Staff?
The answer to these important questions could
only be obtained at head-quarters, and a deputation
of influential citizens was forthwith despatched to
Washington. After asking for the appointment of
a Special Commission to be charged, as the Depu
tation expressed itself, with “ preventing the evils
that England and France could only investigate and
deplore,” the envoys demanded for it the follow
ing powers from the Government.
“ 1. The Commission being organized for the purposes only of
inquiry and advice, asks for no legal powers, but only the
official recognition and moral countenance of the Government,
which will be secured by its public appointment. It asks
for a recommendatory order, addressed in its favour to all
officers of the Government, to further its inquiries; for per
mission to correspond and confer, on a confidential footing,
with the Medical Bureau and the War Department, proffering
such suggestions and counsels as its investigation and studies
may, from time to time, prompt and enable it to offer.
“2. The Commission seeks no pecuniary remuneration from the
Government. Its motives being humane andpatriotic, its labours
will be its own reward. The assignment to them of a room in
one of the public buildings, with stationery and other neces
sary conveniences, would meet their expectations in this direc
tion.
“3. The Commission asks leave to sit through the war,
either in Washington, or when and where it may find it most
convenient and useful; but it will disband should experience
render its operations embarrassing to the Government, or
�9
Jess necessary and useful than it is now supposed they will
prove.”
“ The general object of the Commission is, through sugges
tions reported from time to time to the Medical Bureau and
the War Department, to bring to bear upon the health, com
fort and morale of our troops, the fullest and ripest teachings
of sanitary science in its application to military life, whether
deduced from theory or practical observation, from general
hygienic principles, or from the experience of the Crimean,
the East Indian, and the Italian wars. Its objects are purely
advisory.
“ The specific points to which its attention would be directed
may here be partly indicated, but in some part may depend
upon the course of events, and the results of its own observa
tions and promptings, when fairly at work. If it knew pre
cisely what the results of its own inquiries would be, it would
state them at once, without asking for that authority and those
governmental facilities essential to a successful investigation
of the subject. As the Government may select its own Com
missioners,—the persons named in the recommendation of the
Medical Bureau being wholly undesirous, however willing, to
serve, if other persons more deserving of the confidence of the
Government and of the public can be nominated,—it is hoped
that the character of the Commission will be the best warrant
the Government can have that the inquiries of the Commission,
both as to their nature and the manner of conducting them,
will be pursued with discretion and a careful eye to avoiding
impertinent and offensive interference with the legal authority
and official rights of any of the bureaus with which it may be
brought in contact.”
“ The Commission proposes a practical inquiry into the ma
terial of the volunteer force, with reference to the laws and
usages of the several States in the matter of inspection, with
the hope of assimilating their regulations with those of the
army proper, alike in the appointment of medical and other
�10
officers and in the rigorous application of just rules and prin
ciples to recruiting and inspection laws. This inquiry would
exhaust every topic appertaining to the materiel of the army,
considered as a subject of sanitary and medical care.
“ The Commission would inquire with scientific thorough
ness into the subject of diet, cooking, cooks, clothing, tents,
camping grounds, transports, transitory depots, with their ex
posures, camp police, with reference to settling the question,
How far the regulations of the Army proper are or can be
practically carried out among the volunteer regiments, and
what changes or modifications are desirable from their peculiar
character and circumstances ? Everything appertaining to
outfit, cleanliness, precautions against damp, cold, heat, ma
laria, infection; crude, unvaried, or ill-cooked food, and an
irregular or careless regimental commissariat, would fall under
this head.
“ The Commission would inquire into the organization of
military hospitals, general and regimental; the precise regula
tions and routine through which the services of the patriotic
women of the country may be made available as nurses; the
nature and sufficiency of hospital supplies; the method of
obtaining and regulating all other extra and unbought supplies
contributing to the comfort of the sick; the question of am
bulances and field service, and of extra medical aid ; and what
ever else relates to the care, relief, or cure of the sick and
wounded—their investigations being guided by the highest and
latest medical and military experience, and carefully adapted to
the nature and wants of our immediate army, and its peculiar
origin and circumstances.”
There was every necessity for the establishment
of such a Commission with such objects, and armed
with the required powers. The Army of the United
States had suddenly risen from 15,000 to 80,000
men, while the old Medical Staff, based on the
�11
peace establishment, stood in absolute need of re
organization and proportionate increase. But the
bureaucracy there, as elsewhere, frowned upon all
suggestion as impertinent interference, and steadily
resisted reform; and it was only after many days’
delay that the required authority was accorded by
the War Department, and the Sanitary Commission
of the United States came into being.
The organization of the United States Sanitary
Commission, the mode in which it obtains its vast
resources from the masses of the people and distri
butes them over an area half as large as the Conti
nent of Europe, is well worthy investigation. The
Commission, it may be said, has greatly exceeded
the duties marked out by itself at the commence
ment of its career; it has gone far beyond merely
advising the Medical Staff, for it now supplements
it in an extraordinary manner, even to the extent of
rendering medical assistance in the hospital and
field, and in the front of battle itself.*
The supplies furnished to the different armies of
the Republic by the Commission are of the most
varied description, comprising everything required
by the soldier outside of purely military requisites.
The Government has not pecuniarily aided the
Commission in this labour of love to the extent of
a single dollar; every article, every pound of the
two millions sterling contributed in specie, has been
given by the citizens as- a free-will offering. The
* See Appendix, (Note A.)
�12
Commission, in fact, has been the Almoner of the
people, the channel through which its offerings
have been conveyed to the soldiers. No better
idea of its work can be found, than by giving a
list of the supplies furnished by it to the Army of
the Potomac, at the close of the battle of Gettysburgh, which took place in the month of July,
1863.
Clothing, &c.
Drawers, woollen 5,310 prs.
„
cotton
1,833 „
Shirts, woollen . 7,178
„ cotton
3,266
Pillows
2,114
Pillow-cases
264
Bed-sacks ;
1,630
Blankets
1,007
Sheets
274
Wrappers .
508
Handkerchiefs . 2,659
Stockings, woollen 3,560 prs.
„
cotton 2,258 „
Bed Utensils
728
Towels & Napkins 10,000
Sponges
2,300
Combs
1,500
Buckets
200
Soap, Castile
250 lbs.
Oil-silk
Tin-basins & cups
Old linen and
bandages
Water tanks
Water coolers .
Bay Rum and Eau
de Cologne
Eans .
Chloride of Lime
Shoes & Slippers
Crutches .
Lanthorns .
Candles
Canvas
Mosquito-netting
Paper
Pants, Coats, Hats
Plaster
Pood, &c.
Poultry and Mut
Berries
ton
Bread
.
11,000 lbs.
Tamarinds .
Butter
6,430 „
Eggs .
8,500 doz. Lemons
Garden vegetables
675 bsh. Oranges
300 yds.
7,000
100 brls.
7
46
225 bots.
3,500
11 brls.
4,000 prs.
1,200
180
350 lbs.
300 yds.
648 pcs.
237 qrs.
189 pcs.
16 rolls
48 bsh.
. 12,900 lvs.
750 gals.
116 box.
46
�18
Coffee
850 lbs.
Chocolate .
831 „
Tea
426 „
White Sugar
6,800 „
Syrups
785bots.
Brandy
1,250 „
Whiskey
1,168 „
Wine
1,148 „
Ale .
600 gals.
Biscuit, rusks, &c
134 bar.
Preserved Meats
500 lbs.
Ice
20,000 „
Concentrated
Beef Soup
3,800 „
Concent. Milk . 12,500 „
Prep. Farina
7,000 „
Dried Fruit
Jellies
Preserved Fish .
Pickles
Tobacco
Tobacco pipes. .
Indian Meal
Starch
Codfish
Canned Fruit
„
Oysters
Brandy Peaches .
Catsup
Vinegar
Jam. Ginger
3,500 lbs.
2,000 jars
3,600 lbs.
400 gals.
100 lbs.
1,000
1,621 lbs.
1,074 „
3,848 ,,
582 cans
72 „
303 jars.
43 „
24 hots.
43 jars
All the perishable articles in this list (amounting*
to over 60 tons), were taken to the ground in
refrig*erating wag*g*ons. The estimated value of the
articles, exclusive of the cost of collection and
transportation to the scene of action, was 75,000
dollars; kitchens, sleeping* apartments, shelters,
were established by the Commission’s numerous
agents; and crowds of wounded attended to, who
could not be treated by the over-taxed surgeons of
the army. There was every need of this, for no
less than 14,860 wounded (of whom 1810 belonged
to the opposing forces) crowded the hospitals,
beside 5,452 of the enemy who were captured, and
treated elsewhere. The Commission made and
makes no difference whatever in its gifts to friend
or foe, regarding the sufferers as men, not soldiers.
�14
’ This is but an example of the Commission’s la
bours on a single field : multiply this result by the
different armies operating over an extent of territory
large as the battle-fields of the first Napoleon, in
volving expenses for transport (all paid by itself or
furnished gratuitously by public companies), ship
ping, and trains being in charge of its own agents,
and waggons, horses and mules owned by itself, and
some idea may be formed of the magnitude of its
operations. The outgoings are public, the incomings
are not so well known; yet these involve a greater
amount of labour and management than even the
former. In all the cities, towns and villages of the
Free States, the citizens, and notably the women,
have organized themselves into Branch Aid Socie
ties, which furnish contributions in kind and money
to a Central Committee in the various districts;
these again communicate with the Main Branches
in the great centres, such as New York, Philadel
phia, Washington, Chicago, and Saint Louis, whence
the supplies are distributed to the troops in the
field. As a still more popular mode of engaging
the sympathies of the public, Sanitary Commission
Fairs have been held in many of the principal cities,
and large sums raised thereby for the benefit of the
soldiers. The State of California sent in one lump
500,000 dollars (£100,000 sterling) in gold to the
Treasurer. The Fair at Chicago realized 50,000
dollars, that held in the city of Cincinnati 268,611
dollars, Brooklyn over 400,000 dollars, Philadel
�15
phia over 700,000 dollars, and the city of New
York upwards of 1,000,000 dollars. Yet, vast as
are these contributions, the calls for aid are still
greater, and that notwithstanding the increasing
liberality of the public as the operations of the Com
mission become more widely known.
It is well to remark that the Commission makes
it a rule to pay all its employees, not merely as a
matter of justice, but of sound policy. Every ex
pense, from first to last, of carrying on these gi
gantic operations is, however, less than three per
cent of its income.
Its doors are ever open to
all comers, and any one may inspect its books who
sees fit.
The Medical Staff of the United States Army at
present regards the Commission as its faithful hand
maiden in the field, the hospital and the camp, and
nothing but praise is now heard from those who
formerly were its bitter opponents.* The reason is
obvious. The Sanitary Commission has solved a
question which is still an enigma to other nations,
for it has proved by three years of colossal labours
that Military Discipline and Volunteer Philanthropy
can exist side by side, and work together harmo
niously for the exceeding benefit of the Army.
Lest I be accused of national partiality for an
organization which will reflect glory upon the
American people long after this war is over, I may
be permitted to quote the words of an English
* See Appendix (Note B.)
�16
philosopher, whose reputation stands as high in my
country as in his own. Mr. John Stuart Mill
thus writes in reference to the United States Sani
tary Commission :—
“It would be unpardonable did I omit to express my
warmest feelings of admiration for the Sanitary Commission.
History has afforded no other example—though it is to be
hoped that it will hereafter afford many—of so great a work
of usefulness extemporized by the spontaneous self-devotion
and organizing genius of a people, altogether independently of
the Government.”
This Volunteer Sanitary Commission has fur
nished to the different armies of the Republic since
the commencement of the war, four millions of pounds
sterling- of army necessaries, comforts, and luxuries.
Its establishment, org-anization, magnitude and
achievements prove three things:—
Firstly. The Armies of a Nation can be ren
dered incomparably more efficient by the volun
teer aid and assistance of the people,—without the
slightest infringement of military discipline, or inter
ference with the constituted medical authorities of
armies.
Secondly. The American Civil War affords the
brightest precedent of spontaneous and yet organized
benevolence, and furnishes an example which other
nations will do well to emulate.
Thirdly. The whole of the American people—
men, women, and children alike, in thus rendering
their armies efficient, prove conclusively that the
�war is not carried on—as many in Europe suppose,
—by the Government of a minority, but is waged by
the great mass of the citizens themselves. In no
other way can you explain the colossal achievements
of this Volunteer Commission.
�18
APPENDIX.
Note A.
After the defeat of General Burnside’s army at Fredericks
burg, in the month of December 1862, the surgeons sent
forward by the Sanitary Commission treated upwards of 8,000
wounded on the field. At Gettysburgh, 13,050 Federals, and
7,260 Confederates were cared for by the medical employees of
that body. There have been few engagements during the war in
which the Commission has not similarly rendered aid to the
overworked medical staff of the different armies. During
General Gillmore’s attack on Fort Wagner, in Charleston Har
bour, the Belief Agents of the Commission marched with the
assaulting columns to the very moat around the fort: the Port
Boyal Free Press thus refers to their courageous labours :—
“ The Officers of the Sanitary Commission have won for them
selves a splendid reputation in this Department. They have, by
their discretion and zeal, saved many valuable lives. Under the
guns of Wagner, in the hottest of the fire, their trained corps
picked up and carried off the wounded almost as they fell. As
many of our men were struck while ascending the parapet and then
rolled into the moat, which at high water contains six feet of water,
they must inevitably have perished had they been suffered to re
main. But the men who were detailed for service with Dr. Marsh
(chief agent of the Commission in the Department) went about
their work with intrepidity and coolness worthy of all praise.
The skill and experience of the members of the Commission has,
since the battle, been unremittingly employed to render comfortable
the sick and wounded.”
The Commission has established a special “Field Belief
Corps,” the members of which are provided with light waggons,
containing such remedies and necessaries as surgeons most
require in the heat of an engagement; and these waggons with
�19
their attendants are always to be found in the front of the
battle where men are falling the fastest. At the close of the
action, the members of the corps hunt up the straggling
wounded, assist them to the ambulances and temporary hospitals,
and treat them both surgically and medically when the atten
tion of regular army surgeons is engaged elsewhere.
Depabtment
of
Special Relief.
The objects for which this Department was created, are thus
described by the Commission itself.
1. To supply to the sick men of the newly-arrived regiments such
-medicines, food, and care, as it is impossible for them to receive in
the midst of the confusion, and with the unavoidable lack of
facilities, from their own officers. The men to be thus aided
are those who are not so sick as to have a claim upon a gene
ral hospital, and yet need immediate care to guard them against
serious sickness.
2. To furnish suitable food, lodging, care, and assistance, to men
who are honourably discharged from service, sent from general
hospitals, or from their regiments; but who are often delayed a
day or more in the city—sometimes many days—before they obtain
their papers and pay.
3. To communicate with distant regiments in behalf of discharged
men, whose certificates of disability or descriptive lists on which
to draw their pay, prove to be defective ; the invalid soldiers mean
time being cared for, and not exposed to the fatigue and risk of
going in person to their regiments to have their papers corrected.
4. To act as the unpaid agent, or attorney, of discharged soldiers
who are too feeble, or too utterly disabled to present their own
claims at the paymaster’s office.
5. To look into the condition of discharged men who assume to
be without means to pay the expense of going to their homes ; and
to furnish the necessary means where we find the man is true, and
the need real.
6. To secure to disabled soldiers railway tickets at reduced rates ;
and, through an agent at the railroad station, to see that these men
are not robbed or imposed upon by sharpers.
7. To see that all men who are discharged and paid off, do at
once leave the city for their homes; or in cases where they have
been induced by evil companions to remain behind, to endeavour
to rescue them, and see them started with through tickets to their
own towns.
.
8. To make reasonably clean and comfortable before they leave
the city, such discharged men as are deficient in cleanliness and
clothes.
9. To be prepared to meet at once with food or other aid, such
immediate necessities as arise when sick men arrive in the city in
large numbers from battle-fields, or distant hospitals.
�20
10. To keep a watchful eye upon all soldiers who are out of
hospitals, yet not in service ; and give information to the proper
authorities of such soldiers as seem endeavouring to avoid duty, or
to desert from the ranks.
Soldiers’ Homes.
There is a period in the soldier’s career when he may be
considered no longer under military surveillance and care, and
yet not restored to civil life and the sympathy of his friends
or family; men, for instance, discharged or waiting for their
discharge from service, or sick or wounded, and unable to pro
ceed home. To meet such cases,—and there are tens of thou
sands such,—the Sanitary Commission has established “ Sol
diers’ Homes” in the great cities of the North .and within easy
distance of the principal armies. At the “ Home” on North
Capitol Street, Washington, the Commission had provided no
less than 89,986 nights’ lodging, and 331,315 meals up to the
1st October 1863, and at Cairo, Illinois, to the same date,
79,550 lodgings and 190,150 meals. It must be borne in mind
that all this relief is furnished absolutely gratuitously.
“Nurses’ Homes.”
Similar homes have been provided for the nurses (male and
female) of the Army and the Commission when not engaged in
their duties or about to proceed to other fields of labour.
Relief is here given also to the wives, mothers and sisters of the
troops in search of relatives in the army, and who might other
wise be friendless and destitute.
Other
objects oe the
“Special Reliee.”
This branch of the Commission obtains “ discharge papers”
for the men entitled to them; their back-pay; and railroad
and other tickets at reduced rates for soldiers returning home.
“ The Hospital Directory,” established by this Department,
contains the name and address of every sick and wounded man
in all the military hospitals throughout the country, with a
full statement of the ailment from which he is suffering, and
his present whereabouts.
�21
An
important
Fact.
The various labours of the United States Sanitary Commis
sion are purely gratuitous. No charge has ever been made, no
return other than simple thanks is ever expected for its con
stantly increasing labours and outlay.
Note B.
Testimonials
from
GENERAL
Army Officers.
grant.
“ Headquarters Department of the Tennessee.
“ Vicksburg, Miss., Sept. 28, 1863.
“ Commanding Officer, Cairo, Ill.
“ Sir,—Direct the Post Quartermaster at Cairo to call upon
the United States Sanitary agent at your place, and see exactly
what buildings they require to be erected for their charitable
and humane purposes.
“ The Commission has been of such great service to the
country, and at Cairo are doing so much for this army at this
time, that I am disposed to extend their facilities for doing
good in every way in my power.
******
(Signed)
“ U. S. Grant,
“ Major General.”
MAJOR GENERAL ROSECRANS.
“ Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland.
“ Murfreesboro, February 2, 1863.
“ The General Commanding presents his warmest acknow
ledgments to the friends of the soldiers of this army. * * *
While he highly appreciates and does not undervalue the
�2'2
charities which have been lavished on this Army, experience
has demonstrated the importance of system and impartiality,
as well as judgment and economy, in the forwarding and dis
tribution of these supplies. In all these respects, the United
States Sanitary Commission stands unrivalled. Its organiza
tion, experience, and large facilities for the work are such that
the General does not hesitate to recommend, in the most
urgent manner, all those who desire to send sanitary supplies
to confide them to the care of this Commission. They will
thus insure the supplies reaching their destination without
wastage, or expense of agents or transportation, and their
being distributed in a judicious manner without disorder or
interference with the regulations and usages of the service.
“ This Commission acts in full concert with the Medical
Department of the Army, and enjoys its confidence,” &c.
“ W. S. Rosecrabs. '
“Major General, Commanding Department.”
MAJOR GENERAL MEADE.
“ Headquarters, Army of the Potomac.
“ Friday, April 8,1864.
A
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-Jfc
*
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jfc
“ It has been my duty to make inquiry as to the practical
working and benefit of the United States Sanitary Commission,
and it affords me great pleasure to be able to bear testimony,
so far as this army is concerned, to the inestimable benefits and
blessings conferred by this noble association on the suffering,
sick, and wounded soldiers.
*
*
*
*
#
“ Now, although the Government is most liberal and generous
in all its provisions for the sick and wounded, yet it is impos
sible to keep constantly on hand either the personnel or supplies
required in an emergency of this kind. * * * All the
additional aid from every source was here most urgently
needed, and it gives me great pleasure to say that,/hw the
*
�23
reports of my medical officers, I am satisfied the United States
Sanitary Commission were fully up to the work before them.
“ George Gt. Meade,
" Major General, Commanding Army of the Potomac.”
Opinions
of two
Armt Surgeons.
THE MEDICAL INSPECTOR OF THE ARMY OF
THE POTOMAC.
u We could not do without the Sanitary Commission.”
THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF THE ARMY OF
THE POTOMAC.
“ It gives no trouble : there is no interference.”
THE END.-
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Military discipline and volunteer philanthropy: a paper read before the Social Science Congress held in the city of York, during the month of September, 1864
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fisher, Edmund Crisp
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 23 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal /Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil War. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William Ridgway
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1864
Subject
The topic of the resource
Military
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Military discipline and volunteer philanthropy: a paper read before the Social Science Congress held in the city of York, during the month of September, 1864), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Identifier
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G5376
Format
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
American Civil War
Conway Tracts
Discipline
Military
Military Volunteers
United States - Army
United States Sanitary Commission