LADIES WHO ORGANIZED AID SOCIETIES, AND SOLICITED, RECEIVED AND
FORWARDED SUPPLIES TO THE HOSPITALS, DEVOTING THEIR WHOLE TIME TO THE
WORK, ETC., ETC.
WOMAN'S CENTRAL ASSOCIATION OF RELIEF.
When President Lincoln issued his proclamation, a quick thrill shot
through the heart of every mother in New York. The Seventh Regiment left
at once for the defense of Washington, and the women met at once in
parlors and vestries. Perhaps nothing less than the maternal instinct
could have forecast the terrible future so quickly. From the parlors of
the Drs. Blackwell, and from Dr. Bellows' vestry, came the first call
for a public meeting. On the 29th of April, 1861, between three and four
thousand women met at the Cooper Union, David Dudley Field in the chair,
and eminent men as speakers.
The object was to concentrate scattered efforts by a large and formal
organization. Hence the "Woman's Central Association of Relief," the
germ of the Sanitary Commission. Dr. Bellows, and Dr. E. Harris, left
for Washington as delegates to establish those relations with the
Government, so necessary for harmony and usefulness. The board of the
Woman's Central, after many changes, consisted of,
VALENTINE MOTT, M.D., _President_,
HENRY W. BELLOWS, D.D., _Vice President_,
GEORGE F. ALLEN, Esq., _Secretary_,
HOWARD POTTER, Esq., _Treasurer_.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
H. W. Bellows, D.D., _Chairman_.
Mrs. G. L. Schuyler.[K]
Miss Ellen Collins.
F. L. Olmstead, Esq.
Valentine Mott, M.D.
Mrs. T. d'Oremieulx.
W. H. Draper, M.D.
G. F. Allen, Esq.
REGISTRATION COMMITTEE.
E. Blackwell, M.D., _Chairman_.
Mrs. H. Baylis.
Mrs. V. Botta.
Wm. A. Muhlenburg, D.D.
Mrs. W. P. Griffin, _Secretary_.
Mrs. J. A. Swett.
Mrs. C. Abernethy.
E. Harris, M.D.
FINANCE COMMITTEE.
Howard Potter, Esq.
John D. Wolfe, Esq.
William Hague, D.D.
J. H. Markoe, M.D.
Mrs. Hamilton Fish.
Mrs. C. M. Kirkland.
Mrs. C. W. Field.
Asa D. Smith, D.D.
[Footnote K: This lady's place was filled by her daughter from the
beginning.]
While in Washington, Dr. Bellows originated the "United States Sanitary
Commission," and on the 24th of June, 1864, the Woman's Central
voluntarily offered to become subordinate as one of its branches of
supply. The following September this offer was accepted in a formal
resolution, establishing also a semi-weekly correspondence between the
two boards, by which the wants of the army were made known to the
Woman's Central.
Prominent and onerous were the duties of the Registration Committee. Its
members met daily, to select from numberless applicants, women fitted to
receive special training in our city hospitals for the position of
nurses. So much of moral as well as mental excellence was indispensable,
that the committee found its labors incessant. Then followed the
supervision while in hospital, and while awaiting a summons, then the
outfit and forwarding, often suddenly and in bands, and lastly, the
acceptance by the War Department and Medical Bureau.
The chairman of the committee, Miss E. Blackwell, accompanied by its
secretary, Mrs. Griffin, went to Washington in this service. Miss
Blackwell's admirable report "on the selection and preparation of nurses
for the army," will always be a source of pride to the Woman's Central.
In the meantime, the Finance and Executive Committees were struggling
for a strong foothold. The chairman of the former, Mrs. Hamilton Fish,
raised over five thousand dollars by personal effort. The latter
committee had the liveliest contests, for the Government declared itself
through the Army Regulation, equal to any demands, and the people were
disposed to cry amen. Rumors of "a ninety days' war," and "already more
lint than would be needed for years," stirred the committee to open at
once a correspondence with sewing-societies, churches, and communities
in New York and elsewhere. Simultaneously, the Sanitary Commission
issued an explanatory circular, urgent and minute, "To the loyal women
of America."
Then began that slow yet sure stream of supplies which flowed on to the
close of the war, so slow, indeed, at first, and so impatiently hoped
for, that the members of the committee could not wait, but must rush to
the street to see the actual arrival of boxes and bales. Soon, however,
that good old office, No. 10, Cooper Union, became rich in everything
needed; rich, too, in young women to unpack, mark and repack, in old
women to report forthcoming contributions from grocers, merchants and
tradesmen, and richer than all, in those wondrous boxes of sacrifices
from the country, the last blanket, the inherited quilt, curtains torn
from windows, and the coarse yet ancestral linen. In this personal
self-denial the city had no part. What wonder that the whole corps of
the Woman's Central felt their time and physical fatigue as nothing in
comparison to these heart trials. Out of this responsive earnestness
grew the carefully prepared reports and circulars, the filing of
letters, thousands in number, contained in twenty-five volumes, their
punctilious and grateful acknowledgement, and the thorough plan of
books, three in number, by which the whole story of the Woman's Central
may be learnt, and well would it repay the study.
First, The receiving book recorded the receipt and acknowledgement of
box.
Second, In the day book, each page was divided into columns, in which
was recorded, the letter painted on the cover of each box to designate
it, and the kind and amount of supplies which each contained after
repacking, only one description of supplies being placed in any one box.
So many cases were received during the four years, that the alphabet was
repeated seven hundred and twenty-seven times.
Third, The ledger with its headings of "shirts," "drawers," "socks,"
etc., so arranged, that on sudden demand, the exact number of any
article on hand could be ascertained at a glance.
Thus early began through these minute details, the effectiveness of the
Woman's Central. Every woman engaged in it learnt the value of
precision.
A sub-committee for New York and Brooklyn was formed, consisting of Mrs.
W. M. Fellows, and Mrs. Robert Colby, to solicit from citizens,
donations of clothing, and supplies of all kinds. These ladies were
active, successful and clerkly withal, giving receipts for every article
received.
Those present at Dr. Bellows' Church in May, will never forget the first
thrilling call for nurses on board the hospital transports. The duty was
imperative, was untried and therefore startling. It was like a sudden
plunge into unknown waters, yet many brave women enrolled their names.
From the Woman's Central went forth Mrs. Griffin accompanied by Mrs.
David Lane. They left at once in the "Wilson Small," and went up the
York and Pamunkey rivers, and to White House, thus tasting the first
horrors of war. This experience would form a brilliant chapter in the
history of the Woman's Central.
In June, 1861, the association met with a great loss in the departure
of Mrs. d'Oremieulx, for Europe. Of her Dr. Bellows said: "It would be
ungrateful not to acknowledge the zeal, devotion and ability of one of
the ladies of this committee, Mrs. d'Oremieulx, now absent from the
country, who labored incessantly in the earlier months of the
organization, and gave a most vital start to the life of this
committee." This lady resumed her duties after a year's absence, and
continued her characteristic force and persistency up to the close.
At this time, Mr. S. W. Bridgham put his broad shoulders to the wheel.
He had been a member of the board from the beginning, but not a
"day-laborer" until now. And not this alone, for he was a night-laborer
also. At midnight, and in the still "darker hours which precede the
dawn," Mr. Bridgham and his faithful ally, Roberts, often left their
beds to meet sudden emergencies, and to ship comforts to distant points.
On Sundays too, he and his patriotic wife might be easily detected
creeping under the half-opened door of Number 10, to gather up for a
sudden requisition, and then to beg of the small city expresses,
transportation to ship or railroad. This was often his Sunday worship.
His heart and soul were given to the work.
In November, 1862, a council of representatives from the principal
aid-societies, now numbering fourteen hundred and sixty-two, was held in
Washington. The chief object was to obtain supplies more steadily.
Immediately after a battle, but too late for the exigency, there was an
influx, then a lull. The Woman's Central therefore urged its auxiliaries
to send a monthly box. It also urged the _Federal principle_, that is,
the bestowment of all supplies on United States troops, and not on
individuals or regiments, and explained to the public that the Sanitary
Commission acted in aid of, and not in opposition to the government.
In January, 1863, all supplies had been exhausted by the battles of
Antietam and Fredericksburg. Everything was again needed. An able letter
of inquiry to secretaries of the auxiliary societies with a preliminary
statement of important facts, was drawn up by Miss Louisa L. Schuyler,
and issued in pamphlet form. Two hundred and thirty-five replies were
received, (all to be read)! which were for the most part favorable to
the Sanitary Commission with its Federal principle as a medium, and all
breathed the purest patriotism.
In February, the plan of "Associate Managers" borrowed from the Boston
branch was adopted. Miss Schuyler assumed the whole labor. It was a
division of the tributary states into sections, an associate manager to
each, who should supervise, control and stimulate every aid-society in
her section, going from village to village, and organizing, if need be,
as she went. She should hold a friendly correspondence monthly, with the
committee on correspondence (now separated from that on supplies)
besides sending an official monthly report. To ascertain the right
woman, one who should combine the talent, energy, tact and social
influence for this severe field, was the difficult preliminary step.
Then, to gain her consent, to instruct, and to place her in relations
with the auxiliaries, involved an amount of correspondence truly
frightful. It was done. Yet, in one sense, it was never done; for up to
the close, innumerable little rills from "pastures new" were guided on
to the great stream. The experience of every associate manager, endeared
to the Woman's Central through the closest sympathy would be a rare
record.
An elaborate and useful set of books was arranged by Miss Schuyler in
furtherance of the work of the committee "on correspondence, and
diffusion of information." Lecturers were also to be obtained by this
committee, and this involved much forethought and preparation of the
field. Three hundred and sixty-nine lectures were delivered upon the
work of the Sanitary Commission, by nine gentlemen.
State agencies made great confusion in the hospitals. The Sanitary
Commission was censured for employing paid agents, and its board of
officers even, was accused of receiving salaries. Its agents were abused
for wastefulness, as if the frugality so proper in health, were not
improper in sickness. Reports were in circulation injurious to the honor
of the Commission. Explanations had become necessary. The Woman's
Central, therefore, published a pamphlet written by Mr. George T.
Strong, entitled: "How can we best help our Camps and Hospitals?" In
this the absolute necessity of paid agents was conclusively vindicated;
the false report of salaries to the board of officers was denied, and
the true position of the Sanitary Commission with reference to the
National Government and its medical bureau was again patiently
explained. A series of letters from assistant-surgeons of the army and
of volunteers, recommending the Commission to the confidence of the
people, was also inserted.
About this time a Hospital Directory was opened at Number 10, Cooper
Union.
In the spring of 1863, the Woman's Central continued to be harassed, not
by want of money, for that was always promised by its undaunted
treasurer, but by lack of clothing and edibles. The price of all
materials had greatly advanced, the reserved treasures of every
household were exhausted, the early days of havelocks and Sunday
industry had gone forever, and the Sanitary Commission was frequently
circumvented and calumniated by rival organizations. The members of the
Woman's Central worked incessantly. Miss Collins was always at her post.
She had never left it. Her hand held the reins taut from the beginning
to the end. She alone went to the office daily, remaining after office
hours, which were from nine to six, and taking home to be perfected in
the still hours of night those elaborate tables of supplies and their
disbursement, which formed her monthly Report to the Board of the
Woman's Central. These tables are a marvel of method and clearness.
To encourage its struggling Aid-Societies, who were without means, but
earnest in their offers of time and labor, the Woman's Central offered
to purchase for them materials at wholesale prices. This was eagerly
accepted by many. A purchasing Committee was organized, consisting of
Mrs. J. H. Swett, Mrs. H. Fish, Mrs. S. Weir Roosevelt.
Miss Schuyler's wise "Plan of organization for country Societies," and
the founding of "Alert-clubs," as originated in Norwalk (Ohio), also
infused new life into the tributaries. Her master-mind smoothed all
difficulties, and her admirable Reports so full of power and pathos,
probed the patriotism of all. Societies were urged to work as if the war
had just begun. From these united efforts, supplies came in steadily, so
that in the summer of 1863, the Woman's Central, was able to contribute
largely to the Stations at Beaufort and Morris Island. The blessings
thus poured in were dispensed by Dr. and Mrs. Marsh, with their usual
good judgment, and it is grateful to remember that the sufferers from
that thrilling onslaught at Fort Wagner, were among the recipients.
In the summer of 1863, the Association lost its faithful Secretary, Mr.
George F. Allen. Mr. S. W. Bridgham was elected in his place.
During this eventful summer, Miss Collins and Mrs. Griffin, had sole
charge of the office, through the terrible New York riots. These ladies
usually alternated in the summer months, never allowing the desk of the
Supply Committee to be without a responsible head. Mrs. Griffin also
became Chairman of the Special Relief Committee organized in 1863, all
of whom made personal visits to the sick, and relieved many cases of
extreme suffering.
Early in January, 1864, a Council of women was summoned to Washington.
Thirty-one delegates were present from the Eastern and Western branches.
Miss Collins and Miss Schuyler were sent by the Woman's Central. This
meeting gave a new impulse to the work. These toilers in the war met
face to face, compared their various experiences, and suggested future
expedients. Miss Schuyler took special pains to encourage personal
intercourse between the different branches. Her telescopic eye swept
the whole field. The only novelty proposed, was County Councils every
three or six months, composed of delegates from the Aid-Societies. This
would naturally quicken emulation, and prove a wholesome stimulus.
Westchester County led immediately in this movement.
About this time supplies were checked by the whirlwind of "Fairs." The
Woman's Central, issued a Circular urging its Auxiliaries to continue
their regular contributions, and to make their working for Fairs a
pastime only. In no other way could it meet the increased demands upon
its resources, for the sphere of the Sanitary Commission's usefulness
had now extended to remotest States, and its vast machinery for
distribution had become more and more expensive.
Letters poured in from the country, unflinching letters, but crying out,
"we are poor." What was to be done? How encourage these devoted
sewing-circles and aid-societies? Every article had advanced still more
in price. A plan was devised to double the amount of any sum raised by
the feeble Aid-Societies, not exceeding thirty dollars per month. Thus,
any Society sending twenty dollars, received in return, goods to the
value of forty. This scheme proved successful. It grew into a large
business, increasing greatly the labors of the Purchasing Committee,
involving a new set of account books and a salaried accountant. Duly the
smaller Societies availed themselves of this offer. The Sanitary
Commission, agreed to meet this additional expense of the Woman's
Central, amounting to over five thousand dollars per month. Thus an
accumulation was gathered for the coming campaign.
In November, 1864, The Woman's Central convened, and defrayed the
expenses of a Soldiers' Aid Society Council, at which two hundred and
fifteen delegates were present.
The Military Hospitals near the city had, from time to time, received
assistance, though not often needed from the Association. The Navy too,
received occasional aid.
In the spring of 1865, The Woman's Central lost its President, Dr. Mott,
whose fame gave weight to its early organization. From respect to his
memory, it was resolved that no other should fill his place.
At last, in April, 1865, came the glad tidings of great joy. Lee had
surrendered. In May, Miss Collins wrote a congratulatory letter to the
Aid-Societies, naming the 4th of July, as the closing day of the Woman's
Central, and urging active work up to that time, as hospital and field
supplies would still be needed. With tender forethought, she also begged
them to keep alive their organizations, for "the privilege of cherishing
the maimed and disabled veterans who are returning to us."
The receipts and disbursements of the Woman's Central are as astounding
to itself as to the public. So much love and patriotism, so little
money! As early as May, 1863, the Treasurer in his Report, remarks:
"That so small a sum should cover all the general amount of expenses of
the Association in the transaction of a business which, during the year,
has involved the receipt or purchase, assorting, cataloguing, marking,
packing, storing and final distribution of nearly half a million of
articles, will be no less satisfactory to the donors of the funds so
largely economized for the direct benefit of the soldier, than to those
friends of the Association from whose self-denying, patriotic and
indefatigable personal labors, this economy has resulted."
In the Table of supplies received and distributed from May 1st, 1861, to
July 7th, 1865, prepared by Miss Collins, the item of shirts alone
amounts to two hundred and ninety-one thousand four hundred and
seventy-five.
For four years' distribution, purchase of hospital delicacies, and all
office expenses, except those of the committee which purchased material
for the aid-societies amounting to seventy-nine thousand three hundred
and ninety dollars and fifty-seven cents, the sum expended was only
sixty-one thousand three hundred and eighty-six dollars and fifty-seven
cents.[L]
[Footnote L: This does not include, of course, the value of the supplies
sent to the distributing depots of the Sanitary Commission, to
Hospitals, or to the field. These amounted to some millions of dollars.]
[Illustration: MRS. MARIANNE F. STRANAHAN.
Eng^d. by A.H. Ritchie.]
How was this accomplished by the Woman's Central except through its band
of daily volunteers (the great unnamed) its devoted associate managers
through whom came an increase of one hundred and thirty-eight new
societies, the generosity of Express companies, the tender
self-sacrifice of country-homes, and the indefatigable labors of the
several committees, all of whom felt it a privilege to work in so sacred
a cause. Neither love nor money, nothing less than sentiment and
principle, could have produced these results.
To the Brooklyn Relief Association the Woman's Central always felt
deeply indebted for supplies. Its admirable President, Mrs. Stranahan,
was in close sympathy with the association, often pouring in nearly half
of the woollen garments it received.
The careful dissemination of printed matter tended to sustain the
interest of country societies. The voluminous reports of the Association
arranged monthly by Miss Schuyler, who also contributed a series of
twelve articles to the Sanitary Commission Bulletin, published
semi-monthly by that board, the "Soldiers' Friend," "Nelly's Hospital,"
and other documents amounting in sixteen months to ninety-eight thousand
nine hundred and eighty-four copies were issued by the committee "On
Correspondence," etc. For the last two years that committee consisted of
Miss L. L. Schuyler, chairman; Mrs. George Curtis, Mrs. David Lane, Miss
A. Post, Miss C. Nash, H. W. Bellows, D.D.
For the last three years, to the first members of the committee on
"Supplies," etc., were added Miss Gertrude Stevens, the Misses Shaw in
succession, Miss Z. T. Detmold, Mr. Isaac Bronson. George Roberts
remained the faithful porter through the whole four years.
The territory from which the Woman's Central received its supplies after
the various branches of the Sanitary Commission were in full working
condition, was eastern and central New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
and partially from northern New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont and
Canada. Generous contributions were also received from European
auxiliaries.
On the 7th of July, 1865, the final meeting of the board of the Woman's
Central took place. Its members, though scattered by midsummer-heat, did
not fail to appear. It was a solemn and touching occasion. The following
resolutions, deeply felt and still read with emotion by its members,
were then unanimously adopted:
_Resolved_, That the Woman's Central Association of Relief cannot
dissolve without expressing its sense of the value and satisfaction
of its connection with the United States Sanitary Commission, whose
confidence, guidance and support it has enjoyed for four years
past. In now breaking the formal tie that has bound us together, we
leave unbroken the bond of perfect sympathy, gratitude and
affection, which has grown up between us.
_Resolved_, That we owe a deep debt of gratitude to our Associate
Managers, who have so ably represented our interests in the
different sections of our field of duty, and, that to their
earnest, unflagging and patriotic exertions, much of the success
which has followed our labors is due.
_Resolved_, That to the Soldiers' Aid Societies, which form the
working constituency of this Association, we offer the tribute of
our profound respect and admiration for their zeal, constancy and
patience to the end. Their boxes and their letters have been alike
our support and our inspiration. They have kept our hearts hopeful,
and our confidence in our cause always firm. Henceforth the women
of America are banded in town and country, as the men are from city
and field. We have wrought, and thought, and prayed together, as
our soldiers have fought, and bled, and conquered, shoulder to
shoulder, and from this hour the womanhood of our country is knit
in a common bond, which the softening influences of Peace must not,
and shall not weaken or dissolve. May God's blessing rest upon
every Soldiers' Aid Society in the list of our contributors, and on
every individual worker in their ranks.
_Resolved_, That to our band of Volunteer Aids, the ladies who, in
turn, have so long and usefully labored in the details of our work
at these rooms, we give our hearty and affectionate thanks, feeling
that their unflagging devotion and cheerful presence have added
largely to the efficiency and pleasure of our labors. Their
record, however hidden, is on high, and they have in their own
hearts the joyful testimony, that in their country's peril and need
they were not found wanting.
_Resolved_, That the thanks of this Association are due to the
ladies who have, at different times, served upon the Board, but are
no longer members of it; and that we recall in this hour of parting
the memory of each and all who have lent us the light of their
countenance, and the help of their hands. Especially do we
recognize the valuable aid rendered by the members of our
Registration Committee, who, in the early days of this Association,
superintended the training of a band of one hundred women nurses
for our army hospitals. The successful introduction of this system
is chiefly due to the zeal and capacity of these ladies.
_Resolved_, That in dissolving this Association, we desire to
express the gratitude we owe to Divine Providence for permitting
the members of this Board to work together in so great and so
glorious a cause, and upon so large and successful a scale, to
maintain for so long a period, relations of such affection and
respect, and now to part with such deep and grateful memories of
our work and of each other.
_Resolved_, That, the close of the war having enabled this
Association to finish the work for which it was organized, the
Woman's Central Association of Relief for the Army and Navy of the
United States, is hereby dissolved.
The meeting then adjourned _sine die_.
SAMUEL W. BRIDGHAM, _Secretary_.
For further and better knowledge of the Woman's Central, is it not
written in the book of the Chronicles of the Board of the United States
Sanitary Commission?
SOLDIER'S AID SOCIETY OF NORTHERN OHIO
Among the branches or centres of supply and distribution of the United
States Sanitary Commission, though some with a wider field and a more
wealthy population in that field have raised a larger amount of money or
supplies, there was none which in so small and seemingly barren a
district proved so efficient or accomplished so much as the "Soldiers'
Aid Society of Northern Ohio."
This extraordinary efficiency was due almost wholly to the wonderful
energy and business ability of its officers. The society which at first
bore the name of The Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland, was composed
wholly of ladies, and was organized on the 20th day of April, 1861, five
days after the President's proclamation calling for troops. Its officers
were (exclusive of vice-presidents who were changed once or twice and
who were not specially active) Mrs. B. Rouse, President, Miss Mary Clark
Brayton, Secretary, Miss Ellen F. Terry, Treasurer. These ladies
continued their devotion to their work not only through the war, but
with a slight change in their organization, to enable them to do more
for the crippled and disabled soldier, and to collect without fee or
reward the bounties, back pay and pensions coming to the defenders of
the country, has remained in existence and actively employed up to the
present time.
No constitution or by-laws were ever adopted, and beyond a verbal
pledge to work for the soldiers while the war should last, and a fee of
twenty-five cents monthly, no form of membership was prescribed and no
written word held the society together to its latest day. Its sole
cohesive power was the bond of a common and undying patriotism.
In October, 1861, it was offered to the United States Sanitary
Commission, as one of its receiving and disbursing branches, and the
following month its name was changed to The Soldiers' Aid Society of
Northern Ohio. Its territory was very small and not remarkable for
wealth. It had auxiliaries in eighteen counties of Northeastern Ohio,
(Toledo and its vicinity being connected with the Cincinnati Branch, and
the counties farther west with Chicago), and a few tributaries in the
counties of Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania, which bordered on
Ohio, of which that at Meadville, Pennsylvania, was the only
considerable one.
In this region, Cleveland was the only considerable city, and the
population of the territory though largely agricultural was not
possessed of any considerable wealth, nor was the soil remarkably
fertile.
In November, 1861, the society had one hundred and twenty auxiliaries. A
year later the number of these had increased to four hundred and fifty,
and subsequently an aggregate of five hundred and twenty was attained.
None of these ever seceded or became disaffected, but throughout the war
the utmost cordiality prevailed between them and the central office.
In the five years from its organization to April, 1866, this society had
collected and disbursed one hundred and thirty thousand four hundred and
five dollars and nine cents in cash, and one million and three thousand
dollars in stores, making a grand total of one million one hundred and
thirty-three thousand four hundred and five dollars and nine cents. This
amount was received mainly from contributions, though the excess over
one million dollars, was mostly received from the proceeds of
exhibitions, concerts, and the Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair held in
February and March, 1864. The net proceeds of this fair were about
seventy-nine thousand dollars.
The supplies thus contributed, as well as so much of the money as was
not required for the other objects of the society, of which we shall say
more presently, were forwarded to the Western Depot of the Sanitary
Commission at Louisville, except in a few instances where they were
required for the Eastern armies. The reception, re-packing and
forwarding of this vast quantity of stores, as well as all the
correspondence required with the auxiliaries and with the Western office
of the Sanitary Commission, and the book-keeping which was necessary in
consequence, involved a great amount of labor, but was performed with
the utmost cheerfulness by the ladies whom we have named as the active
officers of the society.
Among the additional institutions or operations of this society
connected with, yet outside of its general work of receiving and
disbursing supplies, the most important was the "Soldiers' Home,"
established first on the 17th of April, 1861, as a lodging-room for
disabled soldiers in transit, and having connected with it a system of
meal tickets, which were given to deserving soldiers of this class,
entitling the holder to a meal at the depot dining hall, the tickets
being redeemed monthly by the society. In October, 1863, the "Soldiers'
Home," a building two hundred and thirty-five feet long and twenty-five
feet wide, erected and furnished by funds contributed by citizens of
Cleveland at the personal solicitation of the ladies, was opened, and
was maintained until June 1, 1866, affording special relief to fifty-six
thousand five hundred and twenty registered inmates, to whom were given
one hundred and eleven thousand seven hundred and seven meals, and
twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and seventy-three lodgings, at an
entire cost of twenty-seven thousand four hundred and eight dollars and
three cents. No government support was received for this home, and no
rations drawn from the commissary as in most institutions of this kind.
The officers of the society gave daily personal attention to the Home,
directing its management minutely, and the superintendent, matron and
other officials were employed by them.
The society also established a hospital directory for the soldiers of
its territory, and recorded promptly the location and condition of the
sick or wounded men from returns received from all the hospitals in
which they were found; a measure which though involving great labor, was
the means of relieving the anxiety of many thousands of the friends of
these men.
In May, 1865, an Employment Agency was opened, and continued for six
months. Two hundred and six discharged soldiers, mostly disabled, were
put into business situations by the personal efforts of the officers of
the society. The families of the disabled men were cared for again and
again, many of them being regular pensioners of the society.
The surplus funds of the society, amounting June 1st, 1866, to about
nine thousand dollars, were used in the settlement of all war claims of
soldiers, bounties, back pay, pensions, etc., gratuitously to the
claimant. For this purpose, an agent thoroughly familiar with the whole
business of the Pension Office, and the bureaus before which claims
could come, was employed, and Miss Brayton and Miss Terry were daily in
attendance as clerks at the office. Up to August 1st, 1866, about four
hundred claims had been adjusted.
The entire time of the officers of the society daily from eight o'clock
in the morning to six and often later in the evening, was given to this
work through the whole period of the war, and indeed until the close of
the summer of 1866. The ladies being all in circumstances of wealth, or
at least of independence, no salary was asked or received, and no
traveling expenses were ever charged to the Society, though the
president visited repeatedly every part of their territory, organizing
and encouraging the auxiliary societies, and both secretary and
treasurer went more than once to the front of the army, and to the large
general hospitals at Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, etc., with a
view to obtaining knowledge which might benefit their cause.
In August, 1864, a small printing office, with a hand-press, was
attached to the rooms; the ladies learned how to set type and work the
press, and issued weekly bulletins to their auxiliaries to encourage and
stimulate their efforts. For two years from October, 1862, two columns
were contributed to a weekly city paper by these indefatigable ladies
for the benefit of their auxiliaries. These local auxiliary societies
were active and loyal, but they needed constant encouragement, and
incentives to action, to bring and keep them up to their highest
condition of patriotic effort.
The Sanitary Fair at Cleveland was not, as in many other cases,
originated and organized by outside effort, for the benefit of the
Branch of the Sanitary Commission, but had its origin, its organization
and its whole management directly from the Soldiers' Aid Society itself.
In November, 1865, the Ohio State Soldiers' Home was opened, and the
Legislature having made no preparation for its immediate wants, the
Soldiers' Aid Society made a donation of five thousand dollars for the
support of its members.
With a brief sketch of each of these ladies, we close our history of the
Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio.
Mrs. Rouse is a lady somewhat advanced in life, small and delicately
organized, and infirm in health, but of tireless energy and exhaustless
sympathy for every form of human suffering. For forty years past she has
been foremost in all benevolent movements among the ladies of Cleveland,
spending most of her time and income in the relief of the unfortunate
and suffering; yet it is the testimony of all who knew her, that she is
entirely free from all personal ambition, and all love of power or
notoriety. Though earnestly patriotic, and ready to do all in her power
for her country, there is nothing masculine, or as the phrase goes,
"strong-minded" in her demeanor. She is a descendant of Oliver Cromwell,
and has much of his energy and power of endurance, but none of his
coarseness, being remarkably unselfish, and lady-like in her manners.
During the earlier years of the war, she spent much of her time in
visiting the towns of the territory assigned to the society, and
promoting the formation of local Soldiers' Aid Societies, and it was due
to her efforts that there was not a town of any size in the region to
which the society looked for its contributions which had not its aid
society, or its Alert Club, or both. Though plain and _petite_ in
person, she possessed a rare power of influencing those whom she
addressed, and never failed to inspire them with the resolution to do
all in their power for the country. At a later period the laborious
duties of the home office of the society required her constant
attention.
Miss Mary Clark Brayton, the secretary of the society, is a young lady
of wealth, high social position and accomplished education, but of
gentle and modest disposition. Since the spring of 1861, she has
isolated herself from society, and the pleasures of intellectual
pursuits, and has given her whole time and thoughts to the one work of
caring for the welfare of the soldiers. From early morning till evening,
and sometimes far into the night, she has toiled in the rooms of the
society, or elsewhere, superintending the receiving or despatch of
supplies, conducting the immense correspondence of the society,
preparing, setting up and printing its weekly bulletins, or writing the
two columns weekly of matter for the Cleveland papers, on topics
connected with the society's work, now in her turn superintending and
purchasing supplies for the Soldiers' Home, looking out a place for some
partially disabled soldier, or supplying the wants of his family;
occasionally, though at rare intervals, varying her labors by a journey
to the front, or a temporary distribution of supplies at some general
hospital at Nashville, Huntsville, Bridgeport or Chattanooga, and then,
having ascertained by personal inspection what was most necessary for
the comfort and health of the army, returning to her work, and by
eloquent and admirable appeals to the auxiliaries, and to her personal
friends in Cleveland, securing and forwarding the necessary supplies so
promptly, that as the officers of the Commission at Louisville said, it
seemed as if she could hardly have reached Cleveland, before the
supplies began to flow in at the Commission's warehouses at Louisville.
Miss Brayton possesses business ability sufficient to have conducted the
enterprises of a large mercantile establishment, and the complete system
and order displayed in her transaction of business would have done honor
to any mercantile house in the world. Her untiring energy repeatedly
impaired her health, but she has never laid down her work, and has no
disposition to do so, while there is an opportunity of serving the
defenders of her country.
Miss Ellen F. Terry, the treasurer of the society, is a daughter of Dr.
Charles Terry, a professor in the Cleveland Medical College. Her social
position, like that of Miss Brayton, is the highest in that city. She is
highly educated, familiar, like her friend Miss Brayton, with most of
the modern languages of Europe, but especially proficient in
mathematics. During the whole period of the war, she devoted herself as
assiduously to the work of the society as did Mrs. Rouse and Miss
Brayton. She kept the books of the society (in itself a great labor),
made all its disbursements of cash, and did her whole work with a
neatness, accuracy and despatch which would have done honor to any
business man in the country. No monthly statements of accounts from any
of the branches of the Sanitary Commission reporting to its Western
Office at Louisville were drawn up with such careful accuracy and
completeness as those from the Cleveland branch, although in most of the
others experienced and skilful male accountants were employed to make
them up. Miss Terry also superintended the building of the Soldiers'
Home, and took her turn with Miss Brayton in its management. She also
assisted in the other labors of the society, and made occasional visits
to the front and the hospitals. Since the close of the war she and Miss
Brayton have acted as clerks of the Free Claim Agency for recovering the
dues of the soldiers, from the Government offices.
We depart from our usual practice of excluding the writings of those who
are the subjects of our narratives, to give the following sprightly
description of one of the hospital trains of the Sanitary Commission,
communicated by Miss Brayton to the _Cleveland Herald_, not so much to
give our readers a specimen of her abilities as a writer, as to
illustrate the thorough devotion to their patriotic work which has
characterized her and her associates.
ON A HOSPITAL TRAIN.
"Riding on a rail in the 'Sunny South,' is not the most agreeable
pastime in the world. Don't understand me to refer to that favorite
_argumentum ad hominem_ which a true Southerner applies to all who have
the misfortune to differ from him, especially to Northern abolitionists;
I simply mean that mode of traveling that Saxe in his funny little poem,
calls so 'pleasant.' And no wonder! To be whirled along at the rate of
forty miles an hour, over a smooth road, reposing on velvet-cushioned
seats, with backs just at the proper angle to rest a tired
head,--ice-water,--the last novel or periodical--all that can tempt your
fastidious taste, or help to while away the time, offered at your elbow,
is indeed pleasant; but wo to the fond imagination that pictures to
itself such luxuries on a United States Military Railroad. Be thankful
if in the crowd of tobacco-chewing soldiers you are able to get a seat,
and grumble not if the pine boards are hard and narrow. Lay in a good
stock of patience, for six miles an hour is probably the highest rate of
speed you will attain, and even then you shudder to see on either hand
strewn along the road, wrecks of cars and locomotives smashed in every
conceivable manner, telling of some fearful accident or some guerrilla
fight. These are discomforts hard to bear even when one is well and
strong; how much worse for a sick or wounded man. But thanks to the
United States Sanitary Commission and to those gentlemen belonging to
it, whose genius and benevolence originated, planned, and carried it
out, a hospital-train is now running on almost all the roads over which
it is necessary to transport sick or wounded men. These trains are now
under the control of Government, but the Sanitary Commission continues
to furnish a great part of the stores that are used in them. My first
experience of them was a sad one. A week before, the army had moved
forward and concentrated near Tunnel Hill. The dull, monotonous rumble
of army wagons as they rolled in long trains through the dusty street;
the measured tramp of thousands of bronzed and war-worn veterans; the
rattle and roar of the guns and caissons as they thundered on their
mission of death; the glittering sheen reflected from a thousand sabres,
had all passed by and left us in the desolated town. We lived, as it
were, with bated breath and eager ears, our nerves tensely strung with
anxiety and suspense waiting to catch the first sound of that coming
strife, where we knew so many of our bravest and best must fall. At last
came the news of that terrible fight at Buzzard's Roost or Rocky Face
Ridge, and the evening after, in came Dr. S. ---- straight from the
front, and said, 'The hospital-train is at the depot, wouldn't you like
to see it?' 'Of course we would,' chorused Mrs. Dr. S. ---- and myself,
and forthwith we rushed for our hats and cloaks, filled two large
baskets with soft crackers and oranges, and started off. A walk of a
mile brought us to the depot, and down in the further corner of the
depot-yard we saw a train of seven or eight cars standing, apparently
unoccupied. 'There it is,' said Dr. S. ----. 'Why, it looks like any
ordinary train,' I innocently remarked, but I was soon to find out the
difference. We chanced to see Dr. Meyers, the Surgeon-in-charge, on the
first car into which we went, and he made us welcome to do and to give
whatever we had for the men, and so, armed with authority from the
'powers that be,' we went forward with confidence.
"Imagine a car a little wider than the ordinary one, placed on springs,
and having on each side three tiers of berths or cots, suspended by
rubber bands. These cots are so arranged as to yield to the motion of
the car, thereby avoiding that jolting experienced even on the smoothest
and best kept road. I didn't stop to investigate the plan of the car
then, for I saw before me, on either hand, a long line of soldiers, shot
in almost every conceivable manner, their wounds fresh from the
battle-field, and all were patient and quiet; not a groan or complaint
escaped them, though I saw some faces twisted into strange contortions
with the agony of their wounds. I commenced distributing my oranges
right and left, but soon realized the smallness of my basket and the
largeness of the demand, and sadly passed by all but the worst cases. In
the third car that we entered we found the Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel,
and Adjutant of the Twenty-ninth Ohio, all severely wounded. We stopped
and talked awhile. Mindful of the motto of my Commission, to give 'aid
and comfort,' I trickled a little sympathy on them. 'Poor fellows!' said
I. 'No, indeed,' said they. 'We _did_ suffer riding twenty miles'--it
couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen, but a shattered limb
or a ball in one's side lengthens the miles astonishingly--in those
horrid ambulances to the cars. 'We cried last night like children, some
of us,' said a Lieutenant,'but we're all right now. This Hospital Train
is a jolly thing. It goes like a cradle.' Seeing my sympathy wasted, I
tried another tack. 'Did you know that Sherman was in Dalton?' 'No!'
cried the Colonel and all the men who could, raised themselves up and
stared at me with eager, questioning eyes. 'Is that so?' 'Yes,' I
replied, 'It is true.' 'Then, I don't care for this little wound,' said
one fellow, slapping his right leg, which was pierced and torn by a
minie ball. Brave men! How I longed to take our whole North, and pour
out its wealth and luxury at their feet.
"A little farther on in the car, I chanced to look down, and there at my
feet lay a young man, not more than eighteen or nineteen years old; hair
tossed back from his noble white brow; long brown lashes lying on his
cheek; face as delicate and refined as a girl's. I spoke to him and he
opened his eyes, but could not answer me. I held an orange before him,
and he looked a Yes; so I cut a hole in it and squeezed some of the
juice into his mouth. It seemed to revive him a little, and after
sitting a short time I left him. Soon after, they carried him out on a
stretcher--poor fellow! He was dying when I saw him, and I could but
think of his mother and sisters who would have given worlds to stand
beside him as I did. By this time it was growing dark, my oranges had
given out, and we were sadly in the way; so we left, to be haunted for
many a day by the terrible pictures we had seen on our first visit to a
Hospital Train.
"My next experience was much pleasanter. I had the privilege of a ride
on one from Chattanooga to Nashville, and an opportunity of seeing the
plan of arrangement of the train. There were three hundred and fourteen
sick and wounded men on board, occupying nine or ten cars, with the
surgeon's car in the middle of the train. This car is divided into three
compartments; at one end is the store-room where are kept the eatables
and bedding, at the other, the kitchen; and between the two the
surgeon's room, containing his bed, secretary, and shelves and pigeon
holes for instruments, medicines, etc. A narrow hall connects the
store-room and kitchen, and great windows or openings in the opposite
sides of the car give a pleasant draft of air. Sitting in a comfortable
arm-chair, one would not wish a pleasanter mode of traveling, especially
through the glorious mountains of East Tennessee, and further on, over
the fragrant, fertile meadows, and the rolling hills and plains of
Northern Alabama and middle Tennessee, clothed in their fresh green
garments of new cotton and corn. This is all charming for a passenger,
but a hospital train is a busy place for the surgeons and nurses.
"The men come on at evening, selected from the different hospitals,
according to their ability to be moved, and after having had their tea,
the wounds have to be freshly dressed. This takes till midnight, perhaps
longer, and the surgeon must be on the watch continually, for on him
falls the responsibility, not only of the welfare of the men, but of the
safety of the train. There is a conductor and brakeman, and for them,
too, there is no rest. Each finds enough to do as nurse or assistant. In
the morning, after a breakfast of delicious coffee or tea, dried beef,
dried peaches, soft bread, cheese, etc., the wounds have to be dressed a
second time, and again in the afternoon, a third.
"In the intervals the surgeon finds time to examine individual cases,
and prescribe especially for them, and perhaps to take a little rest. To
fulfil the duties of surgeon in charge of such a train, or endure the
terrible strain on brain and nerves and muscles, requires great skill,
an iron will, and a mind undaunted by the shadow of any responsibility
or danger. All this and more has Dr. J. P. Barnum, who has charge of the
train formerly running between Louisville and Nashville, but now
transferred to the road between Nashville and Chattanooga. With a touch
gentle as a woman, yet with manly strength and firmness, and untiring
watchfulness and thoughtful care, he seems wholly devoted to the work of
benefiting our sick and wounded soldiers. All on board the train gave
him the warmest thanks. As I walked through the car, I heard the men
say, 'we hav'n't lived so well since we joined the army. We are better
treated than we ever were before. This is the nicest place we were ever
in,' etc. Should the Doctor chance to see this, he will be shocked, for
modesty, I notice, goes hand in hand with true nobility and generosity;
but I risk his wrath for the selfish pleasure that one has in doing
justice to a good man.
"After breakfast, in the morning, when the wounds were all dressed, I
had the pleasure of carrying into one car a pitcher of delicious
blackberry wine that came from the Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern
Ohio, and with the advice of Dr. Yates, the assistant surgeon, giving it
to the men. The car into which I went had only one tier of berths,
supported like the others on rubber bands. Several times during the day
I had an opportunity of giving some little assistance in taking care of
wounded men, and it was very pleasant. My journey lasted a night and a
day, and I think I can never again pass another twenty-four hours so
fraught with sweet and sad memories as are connected with my second and
last experience on a hospital train."
NEW ENGLAND WOMEN'S AUXILIARY ASSOCIATION.
Among the branches of the United States Sanitary Commission, the
Association which is named above, was one of the most efficient and
untiring in its labors. It had gathered into its management, a large
body of the most gifted and intellectual women of Boston, and its
vicinity, women who knew how to work as well as to plan, direct and
think. These were seconded in their efforts by a still larger number of
intelligent and accomplished women in every part of New England, who, as
managers and directors of the auxiliaries of the Association, roused and
stimulated by their own example and their eloquent appeals, the hearts
of their countrywomen to earnest and constant endeavour to benefit the
soldiers of our National armies. The geographical peculiarities and
connections of the New England States, were such that after the first
year Connecticut and Rhode Island could send their supplies more readily
to the field through New York than through Boston, and hence the
Association from that time, had for its field of operations, only Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. In these four States,
however, it had one thousand and fifty auxiliaries, and during its
existence, collected nearly three hundred and fifteen thousand dollars
in money, and fully one million, two hundred thousand dollars in stores
and supplies for the work of the Sanitary Commission. In December, 1863,
it held a Sanitary Fair in Boston, the net proceeds of which were
nearly one hundred and forty-six thousand dollars.
The first Chairman of the Executive Committee, was Mrs. D. Buck, and on
her resignation early in 1864, Miss Abby W. May, an active and efficient
member of the Executive Committee from the first was chosen Chairman.
The rare executive ability displayed by Miss May in this position, and
her extraordinary gifts and influence render a brief sketch of her
desirable, though her own modest and retiring disposition would lead her
to depreciate her own merits, and to declare that she had done no more
than the other members of the Association. In that coterie of gifted
women, it is not impossible that there may have been others who could
have done as well, but none could have done better than Miss May; just
as in our great armies, it is not impossible that there may have been
Major-Generals, and perhaps even Brigadier-Generals, who, had they been
placed in command of the armies, might have accomplished as much as
those who did lead them to victory. The possibilities of success, in an
untried leader, may or may not be great; but those who actually occupy a
prominent position, must pay the penalty of their prominence, in the
publicity which follows it.
Miss May is a native of Boston, born in 1829, and educated in the best
schools of her natal city. She early gave indications of the possession
of a vigorous intellect, which was thoroughly trained and cultivated.
Her clear and quick understanding, her strong good sense, active
benevolence, and fearlessness in avowing and advocating whatever she
believed to be true and right, have given her a powerful influence in
the wide circle of her acquaintance. She embarked heart and soul in the
Anti-slavery movement while yet quite young, and has rendered valuable
services to that cause.
At the very commencement of the war, she gave herself most heartily to
the work of relieving the sufferings of the soldiers from sickness or
wounds; laboring with great efficiency in the organization and
extension of the New England Women's Auxiliary Association, and in the
spring and summer of 1862, going into the Hospital Transport Service of
the Sanitary Commission, where her labors were arduous, but accomplished
great good. After her return, she was prevailed upon to take the
Chairmanship of the Executive Committee of the Association, and
represented it at Washington, at the meeting of the delegates from the
Branches of the Sanitary Commission. Her executive ability was signally
manifested in her management of the affairs of the Association, in her
rapid and accurate dispatch of business, her prompt and unerring
judgment on all difficult questions, her great practical talent, and her
earnest and eloquent appeals to the auxiliaries. Yet fearless and daring
as she has ever been in her denunciation of wrong, and her advocacy of
right, and extraordinary as are the abilities she has displayed in the
management of an enterprise for which few men would have been competent,
the greatest charm of her character is her unaffected modesty, and
disposition to esteem others better than herself. To her friends she
declared that she had made no sacrifices in the work, none really worthy
of the name--while there were abundance of women who had, but who were
and must remain nameless and unknown. What she had done had been done
from inclination and a desire to serve and be useful in her day, and in
the great struggle, and had been a recreation and enjoyment.
To a lady friend who sought to win from her some incidents of her labors
for publication, she wrote:
"The work in New England has been conducted with so much simplicity, and
universal co-operation, that there have been no persons especially
prominent in it. Rich and poor, wise and simple, cultivated and
ignorant, all--people of all descriptions, all orders of taste, every
variety of habit, condition, and circumstances, joined hands heartily in
the beginning, and have worked together as equals in every respect.
There has been no chance for individual prominence. Each one had some
power or quality desirable in the great work; and she gave what she
could. In one instance, it was talent, in another, money,--in another,
judgment,--in another, time,--and so on. Where all gifts were needed, it
would be impossible to say what would make any person prominent, with
this one exception. It was necessary that some one should be at the head
of the work: and this place it was my blessed privilege to fill. But it
was only an accidental prominence; and I should regret more than I can
express to you, to have this accident of position single me out in any
such manner as you propose; from the able, devoted, glorious women all
about me, whose sacrifices, and faithfulness, and nobleness, I can
hardly conceive of, much less speak of and never approach to.
"As far as I personally am concerned, I would rather your notice of our
part of the work should be of 'New England women.' We shared the
privileges of the work,--not always equally, that would be impossible.
But we stood side by side--through it all, as New England women; and if
we are to be remembered hereafter, it ought to be under that same good
old title, and in one goodly company.
"When I begin to think of individual cases, I grow full of admiration,
and wish I could tell you of many a special woman; but the number soon
becomes appalling,--your book would be overrun, and all, or most of
those who would have been omitted, might well have been there too."
In the same tone of generous appreciation of the labors of others, and
desire that due honor should be bestowed upon all, Miss May, in her
final Report of the New England Women's Auxiliary Association, gives
utterance to the thanks of the Executive Committee to its
fellow-workers:
"We wish we could speak of all the elements that have conspired to our
success in New England; but they are too numerous. From the
representatives of the United States Government here, who remitted the
duties upon soldiers' garments sent to us from Nova Scotia, down to the
little child, diligently sewing with tiny fingers upon the soldier's
comfort-bag, the co-operation has been almost universal. Churches, of
all denominations, have exerted their influence for us; many schools
have made special efforts in our behalf; the directors of railroads,
express companies, telegraphs, and newspapers, and gentlemen of the
business firms with whom we have dealt, have befriended us most
liberally; and private individuals, of all ages, sexes, colors, and
conditions, have aided us in ways that we cannot enumerate, that no one
really knows but themselves. They do not seek our thanks, but we would
like to offer them. Their service has been for the soldiers' sake; but
the way in which they have rendered it has made us personally their
debtors, beyond the power of words to express."
One of the most efficient auxiliaries of the New England Women's
Auxiliary Association, from the thoroughly loyal spirit it manifested,
and the persistent and patient labor which characterized its course was
the _Boston Sewing Circle_, an organization started in November, 1862,
and which numbered thenceforward to the end of the war from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred workers. This Sewing Circle raised twenty-one
thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight dollars in money, (about four
thousand dollars of it for the Refugees in Western Tennessee), and made
up twenty-one thousand five hundred and ninety-two articles of clothing,
a large part of them of flannel, but including also shirts, drawers,
etc., of cotton.
Its officers from first to last were Mrs. George Ticknor, President;
Miss Ira E. Loring, Vice-President; Mrs. G. H. Shaw, Secretary; Mrs.
Martin Brimmer, Treasurer. A part of these ladies, together with some
others had for more than a year previous been engaged in similar labors,
at first in behalf of the Second Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry, and
afterward for other soldiers. This organization of which Mrs. George
Ticknor was President, Miss Ticknor, Secretary, and Mrs. W. B. Rogers,
Treasurer, raised three thousand five hundred and forty-four dollars in
money, and sent to the army four thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine
articles of clothing of which one-third were of flannel.
Another "Boston notion," and a very excellent notion it was, was the
organization of the _Ladies' Industrial Aid Association_, which we
believe, but are not certain, was in some sort an auxiliary of the New
England Women's Auxiliary Association. This society was formed in the
beginning of the war and proposed first to furnish well made clothing to
the soldiers, and second to give employment to their families, though it
was not confined to these, but furnished work also to some extent to
poor widows with young children, who had no near relatives in the army.
In this enterprise were enlisted a large number of ladies of education,
refinement, and high social position. During four successive winters,
they carried on their philanthropic work, from fifteen to twenty of them
being employed during most of the forenoons of each week, in preparing
the garments for the sewing women, or in the thorough and careful
inspection of those which were finished. From nine hundred to one
thousand women were constantly supplied with work, and received in
addition to the contract prices, (the ladies performing their labor
without compensation) additional payment, derived from donations for
increasing their remuneration. The number of garments (mostly shirts and
drawers) made by the employes of this association in the four years, was
three hundred and forty-six thousand seven hundred and fifteen, and the
sum, of twenty thousand thirty-three dollars and seventy-eight cents
raised by donation, was paid as additional wages to the workwomen. The
association of these poor women for so long a period with ladies of
cultivation and refinement, under circumstances in which they could
return a fair equivalent for the money received, and hence were not in
the position of applicants for charity, could not fail to be elevating
and improving, while the ladies themselves learned the lesson that as
pure and holy a patriotism inspired the hearts of the humble and lowly,
as was to be found among the gifted and cultivated. We regret that we
cannot give the names of the ladies who initiated and sustained this
movement. Many of them were conspicuous in other works of patriotism and
benevolence during the war, and some found scope for their earnest
devotion to the cause in camp and hospital, and some gave vent to their
patriotic emotion in battle hymns which will live through all coming
time. Of these as of thousands of others in all the departments of
philanthropy connected with the great struggle, it shall be said, "They
have done what they could."
NORTHWESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION.
When the United States Sanitary Commission was first organized, though
its members and officers had but little idea of the vast influence it
was destined to exert on the labors which were before it, they wisely
resolved to make it a National affair, and accordingly selected some of
their corporate members from the large cities of the West. The Honorable
Mark Skinner, and subsequently E. B. McCagg, Esq., and E. W. Blatchford,
were chosen as the associate members of the Commission for Chicago. The
Commission expected much from the Northwest, both from its earnest
patriotism, and its large-handed liberality. Its selection of associates
was eminently judicious, and these very soon after their election,
undertook the establishment of a branch Commission for collecting and
forwarding supplies, and more effectively organizing the liberality of
the Northwest, that its rills and streams of beneficence, concentrated
in the great city of the Lakes, might flow thence in a mighty stream to
the armies of the West. Public meetings were held, a branch of the
United States Sanitary Commission with its rooms, its auxiliaries and
its machinery of collection and distribution put in operation, and the
office management at first entrusted to that devoted and faithful worker
in the Sanitary cause, Mrs. Eliza Porter. The work grew in extent as
active operations were undertaken in our armies, and early in 1862, the
associates finding Mrs. Porter desirous of joining her husband in
ministrations of mercy at the front, entrusted the charge of the active
labors of the Commission, its correspondence, the organization of
auxiliary aid societies, the issuing of appeals for money and supplies,
the forwarding of stores, the employment and location of women nurses,
and the other multifarious duties of so extensive an institution, to two
ladies of Chicago, ladies who had both given practical evidence of their
patriotism and activity in the cause,--Mrs. A. H. Hoge and Mrs. M. A.
Livermore. The selection was wisely made. No more earnest workers were
found in any department of the Sanitary Commission's field, and their
eloquence of pen and voice, the magnetism of their personal presence,
their terse and vigorously written circulars appealing for general or
special supplies, their projection and management of two great sanitary
fairs, and their unwearied efforts to save the western armies from the
fearful perils of scurvy, entitle them to especial prominence in our
record of noble and patriotic women. The amount of money and supplies
sent from this branch, collected from its thousand auxiliaries and its
two great fairs, has not been up to this time, definitively estimated,
but it is known to have exceeded one million of dollars.
This record of the labors of these ladies during the war would be
incomplete without allusion to the fact that they were the prime movers
in the establishment of a Soldiers' Home, in Chicago, and were, until
after the war ended, actively identified with it. They early foresaw
that this temporary resting-place, which became like "the shadow of a
great rock in a weary land" to tens of thousands of soldiers, going to
and returning from the camp, and hospital, and battle-field, would
eventually crystallize into a permanent home for the disabled and
indigent of Illinois' brave men--and in all their calculations for it,
they took its grand future into account. That future which they foresaw,
has become a verity, and nowhere in the United States is there a
pleasanter, or more convenient, or more generously supported Soldiers'
Home than in Chicago, standing on the shores of Lake Michigan.
MRS. A. H. HOGE.
Perhaps among all who have labored for the soldier, 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 dedicated 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 distinguished
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
accomplishments, 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.
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, Illinois, 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 promise.
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 commenced 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 blossoms, 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 the first time, and never a murmur has escaped his
lips, but grateful 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 Sunday
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 amputated, 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.' 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 similar 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 Northwest 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, calling together audiences of women,
and telling them of the hardships, 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 of Aid
Societies, and taught them how, by systematizing their efforts, they
could render the largest amount of assistance, as well as the most
important, to the objects of the Sanitary Commission.
The eloquence and pathos of these appeals has never been surpassed; and
it is no matter of wonder that they should have opened the hearts and
purses of so many thousands of the listeners. "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 property, our government, our lives? Southern soil has
been watered with their blood, the Mississippi fringed with their
graves, measured 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.
Early in 1863, Mrs. Hoge, in company with Mrs. Colt of Milwaukee, 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 fleet, composed of thirty
steamers filled with fresh troops, whose ranks were soon thinned by
sickness, consequent upon the exposures 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 undoubtedly 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 stronghold, in the attempt to turn the course of the river
into a canal dug across the point. Scurvy was prevailing to a very
considerable extent among the men, who were greatly in need of the
supplies which accompanied her. Here she remained two weeks, and had the
pleasure of distributing these supplies, and witnessing 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 Admiral Porter, who placed a tug boat at her disposal,
in order that she might visit the camps and hospitals which were
totally inaccessible 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 returned 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 collecting, 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 despatched 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 acclivities, 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, but they faltered not. The vacant
places of the fallen were instantly filled, and inch by inch they gained
the heights of Vicksburg. When the precipice was too steep for the
horses to draw up 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 bullets 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 Commission. The main body of the army lay
encamped in the valleys, 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, saying, 'Why, the boys
in the rear could whip Johnston, and we not know it; and we could take
Vicksburg if we chose, and not disturb 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
whizzing minies, and the falling branches of the trees, cut off by an
occasional shell, I felt that war was a terrible reality. The intense
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, 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 kneel
at their mother's knees to lisp their good-night prayers, say, 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 solemn silence. The
gray-haired veteran drew from his breast-pocket a daguerreotype, and
said, 'Here are my wife and daughters. I think any man might be proud of
them, and they all work for the soldiers.' And then each man drew forth
the inevitable 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, overflow 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 regiments. The officer who was with me, grasped my hand; 'Madam,'
said he, 'promise me you'll visit my regiment to-morrow--'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 come. 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, tender-hearted women. In
the valley beneath, just having exchanged the front line of rifle-pits,
with the regiment now occupying it, encamped my son's regiment. Its
ranks had been fearfully 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
alacrity, 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 minute
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, surrounded by a crowd
of the brave fellows. The last sound that reached my ears was cheers for
the Sanitary Commission, and the women at home. I soon reached the
regimental hospital, where lay the wounded color-bearers. As I entered
the tent, the surgeon 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, feverish
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 clustering 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 children'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 came. 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 consciousness was
gone, repeating God's precious promises. As the sun went to rest that
night, he slept in his Father's bosom."
Early in January, 1864, another Council of women connected with 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 results of her now very large experience,
helped greatly the beneficial results of the Council, and harmonized all
the views and 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 marvellous 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 reservation. 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 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 soldiers 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 frequently 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, Pennsylvania,
she was presented by them with a testimonial, beautifully engrossed upon
parchment, surmounted by an exquisitely painted Union flag.