It was at this time that a cargo of sanitary supplies arrived from New

York. A part of these were a contribution from Montreal. Montreal had

before sent goods to the Commission, but these were forwarded to Mrs.

Marsh herself. A letter of hers written not long previous to a friend in

New York, had been forwarded to Montreal, and had aroused a strong

desire there to help her in her peculiar work. A large portion of this

gift was from an M. P., who, though he might, like others, lift his

voice against the American war, had yet enough of the milk of human

kindness in his heart to lead him to desire to do something for her

suffering soldiers and prisoners.

This gift Mrs. Marsh never saw, it being sent with the rest of the

unbroken cargo back to Newbern in view of the expected arrival of her

family there.

The surrender of Lee virtually closed the war, and the necessity of Dr.

Marsh's stay in the South was no longer an important one. Besides this,

his health would not permit it, and he returned to New York where he had

long been wanted to take charge of the "Lincoln Home" in Grove Street, a

hospital opened by the Sanitary Commission for lingering cases of wounds

and sickness among homeless and destitute soldiers.

Of this hospital and home Dr. Marsh was surgeon, and Mrs. Marsh matron.

Dr. Hoadly who had been with Dr. Marsh at the South, still retained the

position of assistant. The health of Dr. Marsh improved, but he has

never entirely recovered.

They entered the Lincoln Home on the 1st of May, 1865, and the house was

immediately filled with patients. They remained there until June of the

following year, 1866. During their stay between three and four hundred

patients were admitted, and of those who were regular patients none

died. One soldier, a Swede, was found in the street in the last stages

of exhaustion and suffering, and died before the morning following his

admission. He bore about him evidences of education and gentle birth,

but he could not speak English, and carried with him into another world

the secret of his name and identity. He had no disease, but the

foundations of his life had been sapped by the irritation caused by

filth and vermin.

As at the South, in the services of Mrs. Marsh here, there was a great

disproportion between their showiness and their usefulness. She pursued

her quiet round of labors, the results of which will be seen and felt

for years, as much as in the present. Her kind voice, and pleasant smile

will be an ever living and delightful memory in the hearts of all to

whom she ministered during those long hours of the nation's peril, in

which the best blood of her sons was poured out a red libation to

Liberty.

After the close of the Lincoln Home, Mrs. Marsh continued to devote

herself to suffering soldiers and their families, making herself notably

useful in this important department of the nation's work.

SAINT LOUIS LADIES' UNION AID SOCIETY.

This Society, the principal Auxiliary of the Western Sanitary

Commission, and holding the same relation to it that the Women's Central

Association of Relief in New York, did to the United States Sanitary

Commission had its origin in the summer of 1861. On the 26th of July, of

that year, a few ladies met at the house of Mrs. F. Holy, in St. Louis,

to consider the propriety of combining the efforts of the loyal ladies

of that city into a single organization in anticipation of the conflict

then impending within the State. At an adjourned meeting held a week

later, twenty-five ladies registered themselves, as members of the

"Ladies' Union Aid Society," and elected a full board of officers. Most

of these resigned in the following autumn, and in November, 1861, the

following list was chosen, most of whom served through the war.

President: Mrs. Alfred Clapp; Vice Presidents, Mrs. Samuel C. Davis,

Mrs. T. M. Post, Mrs. Robert Anderson; Recording Secretary, Miss H. A.

Adams; Treasurer, Mrs. S. B. Kellogg; Corresponding Secretary, Miss

Belle Holmes; afterwards, Miss Anna M. Debenham. An Executive Committee

was also appointed, several of the members of which, and among the

number, Mrs. C. R. Springer, Mrs. S. Palmer, Mrs. Joseph Crawshaw, Mrs.

Washington King, Mrs. Charles L. Ely, Mrs. F. F. Maltby, Mrs. C. N.

Barker, Miss Susan J. Bell, Miss Eliza S. Glover, and Miss Eliza Page,

were indefatigable in their labors for the soldiers.

This Society was from the beginning, active and efficient. It conducted

its business with great ability and system, and in every direction made

itself felt as a power for good throughout the Mississippi Valley. Its

officers visited for a considerable period, fourteen hospitals in the

city and vicinity, and were known in the streets by the baskets they

carried. Of one of these baskets the recording Secretary, Miss Adams,

gives us an interesting inventory in one of her reports: "Within was a

bottle of cream, a home-made loaf, fresh eggs, fruit and oysters; stowed

away in a corner was a flannel shirt, a sling, a pair of spectacles, a

flask of cologne; a convalescent had asked for a lively book, and the

lively book was in the basket; there was a dressing-gown for one, and a

white muslin handkerchief for another; and paper, envelopes and stamps

for all."

The Christian Commission made the ladies of the Society their agents for

the distribution of religious reading, and they scattered among the men

one hundred and twenty-five thousand pages of tracts, and twenty

thousand books and papers.

The Ladies' Union Aid Society, sent delegates to all the earlier

battle-fields, as well as to the camps and trenches about Vicksburg, and

these ladies returned upon the hospital steamers, pursuing their heroic

work, toiling early and late, imperilling in many cases their health,

and even their lives, in the midst of the trying and terrible scenes

which surrounded them. During the fall and winter of 1862-3, the

Society's rooms were open day and evening, for the purpose of

bandage-rolling, so great was the demand for supplies of this kind.

Amid their other labors, they were not unmindful of the distress which

the families of the soldiers were suffering. So great was the demand for

hospital clothing, that they could not supply it alone, and they

expended five thousand five hundred dollars received for the purpose

from the Western Sanitary Commission, in paying for the labor on

seventy-five thousand garments for the hospitals. The Medical Purveyor,

learning of their success, offered the Aid Society a large contract for

army work. They accepted it, and prepared the work at their rooms, and

gave out one hundred and twenty-eight thousand articles to be made,

paying out over six thousand dollars for labor. Several other contracts

followed, particularly one for two hundred and sixty-one thousand yards

of bandages, for the rolling of which six hundred and fifty-two dollars

were paid. By these means and a judicious liberality, the Society

prevented a great amount of suffering in the families of soldiers. The

Benton Barracks Hospital, one of the largest in the West, to which

reference has been frequently made in this volume, had for its

surgeon-in-charge, that able surgeon and earnest philanthropist, Dr. Ira

Russell. Ever anxious to do all in his power for his patients, and

satisfied that more skilfully prepared special diet, and in greater

variety than the government supplies permitted would be beneficial to

them, he requested the ladies of the Union Aid Society, to occupy a

reception-room, storeroom, and kitchen at the hospital, in supplying

this necessity. Donations intended for the soldiers could be left at

these rooms for distribution; fruit, vegetables, and other offerings

could here be prepared and issued as required. Thus all outside bounty

could be systematized, and the surgeon could regulate the diet of the

entire hospital. Miss Bettie Broadhead, was the first superintendent of

these rooms which were subsequently enlarged and multiplied. Bills of

fare were distributed in each ward every morning; the soldiers wrote

their names and numbers opposite the special dishes they desired; the

surgeon examined the bills of fare, and if he approved, endorsed them.

At the appointed time the dishes distinctly labelled, arrived at their

destination in charge of an orderly. Nearly forty-eight thousand dishes

were issued in one year.

In the fall of 1863, the Society established a branch at Nashville,

Tennessee, Mrs. Barker and Miss H. A. Adams, going thither with five

hundred dollars and seventy-two boxes of stores. Miss Adams, though

surrounded with difficulties, and finding the surgeons indifferent if

not hostile, succeeded in establishing a special diet kitchen, like that

at Benton Barracks' Hospital. This subsequently became a very important

institution, sixty-two thousand dishes being issued in the single month

of August, 1864. The supplies for this kitchen, were mostly furnished by

the Pittsburg Subsistence Committee, and Miss Ellen Murdoch, the

daughter of the elocutionist to whom we have already referred, in the

account of the Pittsburg Branch, prepared the supplies with her own

hands, for three months. During this period, no reasonable wish of an

invalid ever went ungratified.

This Society also did a considerable work for the freedmen--and the

white refugees, in connection with the Western Sanitary Commission. On

the formation of the Freedmen's Relief Society, this part of their work

was transferred to them.

We have no means of giving definitely the aggregate receipts and

disbursements of this efficient Association. They were so involved with

those of the Western Sanitary Commission, that it would be a difficult

task to separate them. The receipts of the Commission were seven hundred

and seventy-one thousand dollars in money, and about three millions five

hundred thousand dollars in supplies. Of this sum we believe we are not

in the wrong in attributing nearly two hundred thousand dollars in cash,

and one million dollars in supplies to the Ladies' Union Aid Society,

either directly or indirectly.

Believing that the exertions of the efficient officers of the Society

deserve commemoration, we have obtained the following brief sketches of

Mrs. Clapp, Miss Adams, (now Mrs. Collins), Mrs. Springer, and Mrs.

Palmer.

Among the earnest and noble women of St. Louis, who devoted themselves

to the cause of their country and its heroic defenders at the beginning

of the great Rebellion, and whose labors and sacrifices were maintained

throughout the struggle for national unity and liberty, none are more

worthy of honorable mention, in a work of this character, than MRS. ANNA

L. CLAPP.

She was distinguished among those ladies whose labors for the Charities

of the war, and whose presence in the Hospitals, cheered and comforted

the soldiers of the Union, and either prepared them for a tranquil and

happy deliverance from their sufferings, or sent them back to the field

of battle to continue the heroic contest until success should crown the

victorious arms of the nation, and give peace and liberty to their

beloved country.

The maiden name of Mrs. Clapp was Wendell, and her paternal ancestors

originally emigrated from Holland. She was born in Cambridge, Washington

county, New York, and was educated at Albany.

For three years she was a teacher in the celebrated school of Rev.

Nathaniel Prime, at Newburgh, New York. In the year 1838, she was

married to Alfred Clapp, Esq., an enterprising merchant, and lived for

several years in New York City, and Brooklyn, where she became an active

member of various benevolent associations, and performed the duties of

Treasurer of the Industrial School Association.

Just previous to the Rebellion, she emigrated with her husband and

family to St. Louis, and after the war had commenced, and the early

battles in the West had begun to fill every vacant public building in

that city with sick and wounded men, she, with many other noble women of

like heroic temperament, found a new sphere for their activity and

usefulness. In the month of August, 1861, the Ladies' Union Aid Society,

of St. Louis, was organized for the purpose of ministering to the wants

of the sick and wounded soldiers, providing Hospital garments and

Sanitary stores, in connection with similar labors by the Western

Sanitary Commission, assisting soldiers' families, and visiting the

Hospitals, to give religious counsel, and minister consolation to the

sick and dying, in a city where only a few of the clergy of the various

denominations who were distinguished for their patriotism and loyalty,

attended to this duty; the majority, both Protestant and Catholic, being

either indifferent to the consequences of the rebellion, or in sympathy

with the treason which was at that time threatening the Union and

liberties of the country with disruption and overthrow.

Of this Association of noble and philanthropic women, which continued

its useful labors during the war, Mrs. Clapp was made President in the

fall of 1861, holding that office during the existence of the

organization, giving nearly all her time and energies to this great work

of helping and comforting her country's defenders.

After the great battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg, and Arkansas Post, she,

with other ladies of the Association, repaired on Hospital Steamers to

the scene of conflict, taking boxes of Sanitary stores, Hospital

garments and lint for the wounded, and ministered to them with her own

hands on the return trips to the Hospitals of St. Louis.

As President of the Ladies' Union Aid Society, her labors were arduous

and unremitting. The work of this association was always very great,

consisting in part of the manufacture of hospital garments, by contract

with the medical purveyor, which work was given out to the wives of

soldiers, to enable them the better to support themselves and children,

during the absence of their husbands in the army. The work of cutting

out these garments, giving them out, keeping an account with each

soldier's wife, paying the price of the labor, etc., was no small

undertaking, requiring much labor from the members of the society. It

was an interesting sight, on Thursday of each week, to see hundreds of

poor women filling the large rooms of the association on Chestnut

Street, from morning to night, receiving work and pay, and to witness

the untiring industry of the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and

Committees, waiting upon them.

The visitation of these families by committees, and their reports, to

say nothing of the general sanitary and hospital work performed by the

society, required a large amount of labor; and in addition to this the

aid rendered to destitute families of Union refugees, and the part taken

by Mrs. Clapp in organizing a Refugee Home, and House of Industry, would

each of itself make quite a chapter of the history of the association.

In all these labors Mrs. Clapp showed great executive and administrative

ability, and must be reckoned by all who know her, among the truly

patriotic women of the land. And in all the relations of life her

character stands equally high, adorning, as she does, her Christian

profession by works of piety, and patriotism, and love, and commanding

the highest confidence and admiration of the community in which she

lives.

The devoted labors of MISS H. A. ADAMS, in the service of the soldiers

of the Union and their families, from the beginning of the war, till

near its close, entitle her to a place in the records of this volume.

She was born in Fitz William, New Hampshire, at the foot of Mount

Monadnock, and grew to maturity amid the beautiful scenery, and the pure

influences of her New England home. Her father, Mr. J. S. Adams, was a

surveyor, a man of character and influence, and gave to his daughter an

excellent education. At fifteen years of age she became a teacher, and

in 1856 came West for the benefit of her health, having a predisposition

to pulmonary consumption, and fearing the effect of the east winds and

the trying climate of the Eastern States.

Having connections in St. Louis she came to that city, and, for a year

and a half, was employed as a teacher in the public schools. In this,

her chosen profession, she soon acquired an honorable position, which

she retained till the commencement of the war. At this time, however,

the management of the schools was directed by a Board of Education, the

members of which were mostly secessionists, the school fund was diverted

from its proper uses by the disloyal State government, under Claib.

Jackson, and all the teachers, who were from New England, were dismissed

from their situations, at the close of the term in 1861. Miss Adams, of

course, was included in this number, and the unjust proscription only

excited more intensely the love of her country and its noble defenders,

who were already rallying to the standard of the Union, and laying down

their lives on the altars of justice and liberty.

In August, 1861, the Ladies' Union Aid Society, of St. Louis, was

organized. Miss Adams was present at its first meeting and assisted in

its formation. She was chosen as its first secretary, which office she

filled with untiring industry, and to the satisfaction of all its

members, for more than three years.

In the autumn of 1863, her only brother died in the military service of

the United States. With true womanly heroism, she went to the hospital

at Mound City, Illinois, where he had been under surgical treatment,

hoping to nurse and care for him, and see him restored to health, but

before she reached the place he had died and was buried. From this time

her interest in the welfare of our brave troops was increased and

intensified, and there was no sacrifice she was not willing to undertake

for their benefit. Moved by the grief of her own personal bereavement,

her sympathy for the sick and wounded of the army of the Union, was

manifested by renewed diligence in the work of sending them all possible

aid and comfort from the ample stores of the Ladies' Union Aid Society,

and the Western Sanitary Commission, and by labors for the hospitals far

and near.

The duties of Miss Adams, as Secretary of the Ladies' Union Aid Society,

were very arduous.

The Society comprised several hundred of the most noble, efficient and

patriotic women of St. Louis. The rooms were open every day, from

morning to night. Sanitary stores and Hospital garments were prepared

and manufactured by the members, and received by donation from citizens

and from abroad, and had to be stored and arranged, and given out again

to the Hospitals, and to the sick in regimental camps, in and around St.

Louis, and also other points in Missouri, as they were needed. Letters

of acknowledgement had to be written, applications answered, accounts

kept, proceedings recorded, information and advice given, reports

written and published, all of which devolved upon the faithful and

devoted Secretary, who was ever at her post, and constant and

unremitting in her labors. Soldiers' families had also to be assisted;

widows and orphans to be visited and cared for; rents, fuel, clothing,

and employment to be provided, and the destitute relieved, of whom there

were thousands whose husbands, and sons, and brothers, were absent

fighting the battles of the Union.

Missouri was, during the first year of the war, a battle-ground. St.

Louis and its environs were crowded with troops; the Hospitals were

large and numerous; during the winter of 1861-2, there were twenty

thousand sick and wounded soldiers in them; and the concurrent labors of

the Ladies' Union Aid Society, and the Western Sanitary Commission, were

in constant requisition. The visiting of the sick, ministering to them

at their couches of pain, reading to them, cheerful conversation with

them, were duties which engaged many of the ladies of the Society; and

numerous interesting and affecting incidents were preserved by Miss

Adams, and embodied in the Reports of the Association. She also did her

share in this work of visiting; and during the winter of 1863-4, she

went to Nashville, Tennessee, and established there a special diet

kitchen, upon which the surgeons in charge of the hospitals, could make

requisitions for the nicer and more delicate preparations of food for

the very sick. She remained all winter in Nashville, in charge of a

branch of the St. Louis Aid Society, and, by her influence, secured the

opening of the hospitals to female nurses, who had hitherto not been

employed in Nashville. Knowing, as she did, the superior gentleness of

women as nurses, their more abundant kindness and sympathy, and their

greater skill in the preparation of food for the sick; knowing also the

success that had attended the experiment of introducing women nurses in

the Military Hospitals in other cities, she determined to overcome the

prejudices of such of the army surgeons as stood in the way, and secure

to her sick and wounded brothers in the hospitals at Nashville, the

benefit of womanly kindness, and nursing, and care. In this endeavor she

was entirely successful, and by her persuasive manners, her womanly

grace and refinement, and her good sense, she recommended her views to

the medical authorities, and accomplished her wishes.

Returning to St. Louis in the spring of 1864, she continued to perform

the duties of Secretary of the Ladies' Union Aid Society, till the end

of the year, when, in consequence of a contemplated change in her life,

she resigned her position, and retired from it with the friendship and

warm appreciation of her co-workers in the useful labors of the society.

In the month of June, 1865, she was married to Morris Collins, Esq., a

citizen of St. Louis.

MRS. C. R. SPRINGER, who has labored so indefatigably at St. Louis, for

the soldiers of the Union and their families during the war, was born in

Parsonsfield, Maine. Her maiden name was Lord. Previous to her marriage

to Mr. Springer, a respectable merchant of St. Louis, she was a teacher

in New Hampshire. On the event of her marriage, she came to reside at

St. Louis, about ten years ago, and on the breaking out of the war,

espoused with patriotic ardor the cause of her country in its struggle

with the great slaveholding rebellion. To do this in St. Louis, at that

period, when wealth and fashion, and church influence were so largely on

the side of the rebellion, and every social circle was more or less

infected with treason, required a high degree of moral courage and

heroism.

From the first opening of the hospitals in St. Louis, in the autumn of

1861, Mrs. Springer became a most untiring, devoted and judicious

visiter, and by her kind and gracious manners, her words of sympathy and

encouragement, and her religious consolation, she imparted hope and

comfort to many a poor, sick, and wounded soldier, stretched upon the

bed of languishing.

Besides her useful labors in the hospitals, Mrs. Springer was an active

member of the Ladies' Union Aid Society in St. Louis, from the date of

its organization in August, 1861, to its final disbanding--October,

1865--in the deliberations of which her counsel always had great weight

and influence. During the four years of its varied and useful labors for

the soldiers and their families, she has been among its most diligent

workers. In the winter of 1862, the Society took charge of the labor of

making up hospital garments, given out by the Medical Purveyor of the

department, and she superintended the whole of this important work

during that winter, in which one hundred and twenty-seven thousand five

hundred garments were made.

Mrs. Springer is a highly educated woman, of great moral worth, devoted

to the welfare of the soldier, inspired by sincere love of country, and

a high sense of Christian duty. No one will be more gratefully

remembered by thousands of soldiers and their families, to whom she has

manifested kindness, and a warm interest in their welfare. These

services have been gratuitously rendered, and she has given up customary

recreations, and sacrificed ease and social pleasure to attend to these

duties of humanity. Her reward will be found in the consciousness of

having done good to the defenders of her native land, and in the

blessing of those who were ready to perish, to whom her kind services,

and words of good cheer came as a healing balm in the hour of

despondency, and strengthened them for a renewal of their efforts in the

cause of country and liberty.

Among the devoted women who have made themselves martyrs to the work of

helping our patriotic soldiers and their families in St. Louis, was the

late MRS. MARY E. PALMER. She was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey,

June 28th, 1827, and her maiden name was Locker. She was married in

February, 1847, to Mr. Samuel Palmer. In 1855 she removed to Kansas, and

in 1857 returned as far eastward as St. Louis, where she resided until

her death.

In the beginning of the war, when battles began to be fought, and the

sick and wounded were brought to our hospitals to be treated and cared

for, Mrs. Palmer with true patriotic devotion and womanly sympathy

offered her services to this good cause, and after a variety of hospital

work in the fall of 1863, she entered into the service of the Ladies'

Union Aid Society of St. Louis as a regular visiter among the soldiers'

families, many of whom needed aid and work, during the absence of their

natural protectors in the army. It was a field of great labor and

usefulness; for in so large a city there were thousands of poor women,

whose husbands often went months without pay, or the means of sending it

home to their families, who were obliged to appeal for assistance in

taking care of themselves and children. To prevent imposition it was

necessary that they should be visited, the requisite aid rendered, and

sewing or other work provided by which they could earn a part of their

own support, a proper discrimination being made between the worthy and

unworthy, the really suffering, and those who would impose on the

charity of the society under the plea of necessity.

In this work Mrs. Palmer was most faithful and constant, going from day

to day through a period of nearly two years, in summer and winter, in

sunshine and storm, to the abodes of these people, to find out their

real necessities, to report to the society and to secure for them the

needed relief.

Her labors also extended to many destitute families of refugees, who had

found their way to St. Louis from the impoverished regions of Southern

Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and

who would have died of actual want, but for the charity of the

Government and the ministering aid of the Western Sanitary Commission

and the Ladies' Union Aid Society. In her visits and her dispensations

of charity Mrs. Palmer was always wise, judicious, and humane, and

enjoyed the fullest confidence of the society in whose service she was

engaged. In the performance of her duties she was always thoroughly

conscientious, and actuated by a high sense of religious duty. From an

early period of her life she had been a consistent member of the Baptist

Church, and her Christian character was adorned by a thorough

consecration to works of kindness and humanity which were performed in

the spirit of Him, who, during his earthly ministry, "went about doing

good."

By her arduous labors, which were greater than her physical constitution

could permanently endure, Mrs. Palmer's health became undermined, and in

the summer of 1865 she passed into a fatal decline, and on the 2d of

August ended a life of usefulness on earth to enter upon the enjoyments

of a beatified spirit in heaven.

LADIES' AID SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA

One of the first societies formed by ladies to aid and care for the sick

and wounded soldiers, was the one whose name we have placed at the head

of this sketch. The Aid Society of Cleveland, and we believe one in

Boston claim a date five or six days earlier, but no others. The ladies

who composed it met on the 26th of April, 1861, and organized themselves

as a society to labor for the welfare of the soldiers whether in

sickness or health. They continued their labors with unabated zeal until

the close of the war rendered them unnecessary. The officers of the

society were Mrs. Joel Jones, President; Mrs. John Harris, Secretary;

and Mrs. Stephen Colwell, Treasurer. Mrs. Jones is the widow of the late

Hon. Joel Jones, a distinguished jurist of Philadelphia, and

subsequently for several years President of Girard College. A quiet,

self-possessed and dignified lady, she yet possessed an earnestly

patriotic spirit, and decided business abilities. Of Mrs. Harris, one of

the most faithful and persevering laborers for the soldiers in the

field, throughout the war, we have spoken at length elsewhere in this

volume. Mrs. Colwell, the wife of Hon. Stephen Colwell, a man of rare

philosophic mind and comprehensive views, who had acquired a reputation

alike by his writings, and his earnest practical benevolence, was a

woman every way worthy of her husband.

It was early determined to allow Mrs. Harris to follow the promptings

of her benevolent heart and go to the field, while her colleagues should

attend to the work of raising supplies and money at home, and furnishing

her with the stores she required for her own distribution and that of

the zealous workers who were associated with her. The members of the

society were connected with twenty different churches of several

denominations, and while all had reference to the spiritual as well as

physical welfare of the soldier, yet there was nothing sectarian or

denominational in its work. From the fact that its meetings were held

and its goods packed in the basement and vestry of Dr. Boardman's

Church, it was sometimes called the Presbyterian Ladies' Aid Society,

but the name, if intended to imply that its character was

denominational, was unjust. As early as October, 1861, the pastors of

twelve churches in Philadelphia united in an appeal to all into whose

hands the circular might fall, to contribute to this society and to form

auxiliaries to it, on the ground of its efficiency, its economical

management, and its unsectarian character.

The society, with but moderate receipts as compared with those of the

great organizations, accomplished a great amount of good. Not a few of

the most earnest and noble workers in the field were at one time or

another the distributors of its supplies, and thus in some sense, its

agents. Among these we may name besides Mrs. Harris, Mrs. M. M. Husband,

Mrs. Mary W. Lee, Miss M. M. C. Hall, Miss Cornelia Hancock, Miss Anna

M. Ross, Miss Nellie Chase, of Nashville, Miss Hetty K. Painter, Mrs. Z.

Denham, Miss Pinkham, Miss Biddle, Mrs. Sampson, Mrs. Waterman, and

others. The work intended by the society, and which its agents attempted

to perform was a religious as well as a physical one; hospital supplies

were to be dispensed, and the sick and dying soldier carefully nursed;

but it was also a part of its duty to point the sinner to Christ, to

warn and reprove the erring, and to bring religious consolation and

support to the sick and dying; the Bible, the Testament, and the tract

were as truly a part of its supplies as the clothing it distributed so

liberally, or the delicacies it provided to tempt the appetite of the

sick. Mrs. Harris established prayer-meetings wherever it was possible

in the camps or at the field hospitals, and several of the other ladies

followed her example.

In her first report, Mrs. Harris said:--"In addition to the dispensing

of hospital supplies, the sick of two hundred and three regiments have

been personally visited. Hundreds of letters, bearing last messages of

love to dear ones at home, have been written for sick and dying

soldiers. We have thrown something of home light and love around the

rude couches of at least five hundred of our noble citizen soldiers, who

sleep their last sleep along the Potomac.

"We have been permitted to take the place of mothers and sisters, wiping

the chill dew of death from the noble brow, and breathing words of Jesus

into the ear upon which all other sounds fell unheeded. The gentle

pressure of the hand has carried the dying one to the old homestead,

and, as it often happened, by a merciful illusion, the dying soldier has

thought the face upon which his last look rested, was that of a precious

mother, sister, or other cherished one. One, a German, in broken

accents, whispered: 'How good you have come, Eliza; Jesus is always near

me;' then, wrestling with that mysterious power, death, slept in Jesus.

Again, a gentle lad of seventeen summers, wistfully then joyfully

exclaimed: 'I knew she would come to her boy,' went down comforted into

the dark valley. Others, many others still, have thrown a lifetime of

trustful love into the last look, sighing out life with 'Mother, dear

mother!'

"It has been our _highest_ aim, whilst ministering to the temporal

well-being of our loved and valued soldiers, to turn their thoughts and

affections heavenward. We are permitted to hope that not a few have,

through the blessed influence of religious tracts, soldiers' pocket

books, soldiers' Bibles, and, above all, the Holy Scriptures distributed

by us, been led 'to cast anchor upon that which is within the veil,

whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.'"

The society did not attempt, and wisely, to compete with the great

commissions in their work. It could not supply an entire army or throw

upon the shoulders of its hard-working voluntary agents the care of the

sick and wounded of a great battle. Its field of operations was rather

here and there a field hospital, the care of the sick and wounded of a

single division, or at most of a small army corps, when not engaged in

any great battles; the providing for some hundreds of refugees, the care

of some of the freedmen, and the assistance of the families of the

soldiers. Whatever it undertook to do it did well. Its semi-annual

reports consisted largely of letters from its absent secretary, letters

full of pathos and simple eloquence, and these widely circulated,

produced a deep impression, and stirred the sympathies of those who

read, to more abundant contributions.

As an instance of the spirit which actuated the members of this society

we state the following incident of which we were personally cognizant;

one of the officers of the society soon after the commencement of the

war had contributed so largely to its funds that she felt that only by

some self-denial could she give more. Considering for a time where the

retrenchment should begin, she said to the members of her family; "these

soldiers who have gone to fight our battles have been willing to hazard

their lives for us, and we certainly cannot do too much for them. Now, I

propose, if you all consent, to devote a daily sum to the relief of the

army while the war lasts, and that we all go without some accustomed

luxury to procure that sum. Suppose we dispense with our dessert during

the war?" Her family consented, and the cost of the dessert was duly

paid over to the society as an additional donation throughout the war.

The society received and expended during the four years ending April 30,

1865, twenty-four thousand dollars in money, beside five hundred and

fifty dollars for soldiers' families, and seven hundred dollars with

accumulated interest for aiding disabled soldiers to reach their homes.

The supplies distributed were worth not far from one hundred and

twenty-five thousand dollars, aside from those sent directly to Mrs.

Harris from individuals and societies, which were estimated at fully two

hundred thousand dollars.

* * * * *

In this connection it may be well to say something of two other

associations of ladies in Philadelphia for aiding the soldiers, which

remained independent of the Sanitary or Christian Commissions through

the war, and which accomplished much good.

THE PENN RELIEF ASSOCIATION was organized early in 1862, first by the

Hicksite Friends, to demonstrate the falsity of the commonly received

report that the "Friends," being opposed to war, would not do anything

for the sick and wounded. Many of the "Orthodox Friends" afterwards

joined it, as well as considerable numbers from other denominations, and

it proved itself a very efficient body. Mrs. Rachel S. Evans was its

President, and Miss Anna P. Little and Miss Elizabeth Newport its active

and hard-working Secretaries, and Miss Little doubtless expressed the

feeling which actuated all its members in a letter in which she said

that "while loyal men were suffering, loyal women must work to alleviate

their sufferings." The "Penn Relief" collected supplies to an amount

exceeding fifty thousand dollars, which were almost wholly sent to the

"front," and distributed by such judicious and skilful hands as Mrs.

Husband, Mrs. Hetty K. Painter, Mrs. Mary W. Lee, and Mrs. Anna Carver.

"THE SOLDIERS' AID ASSOCIATION," was organized on the 28th of July,

1862, mainly through the efforts of Mrs. Mary A. Brady, a lady of West

Philadelphia, herself a native of Ireland, but the wife of an English

lawyer, who had made his home in Philadelphia, in 1849. Mrs. Brady was

elected President of the Association, and the first labors of herself

and her associates were expended on the Satterlee Hospital, one of those

vast institutions created by the Medical Department of the Government,

which had over three thousand beds, each during those dark and dreary

days occupied by some poor sufferer. In this great hospital these ladies

found, for a time, full employment for the hearts and hands of the

Committees who, on their designated days of the week, ministered to

these thousands of sick and wounded men, and from the depot of supplies

which the Association had established at the hospital, prepared and

distributed fruits, food skilfully prepared, and articles of hospital

clothing, of which the men were greatly in need. Those cheering

ministrations, reading and singing to the men, writing letters for them,

and the dressing and applying of cooling lotions to the hot and inflamed

wounds were not forgotten by these tender and kind-hearted women.

But Mrs. Brady looked forward to work in other fields, and the exertion

of a wider influence, and though for months, she and her associates felt

that the present duty must first be done, she desired to go to the

front, and there minister to the wounded before they had endured all the

agony of the long journey to the hospital in the city. The patients of

the Satterlee Hospital were provided with an ample dinner on the day of

the National Thanksgiving, by the Association, and as they were now

diminishing in numbers, and the Auxiliary Societies, which had sprung up

throughout the State, had poured in abundant supplies, Mrs. Brady felt

that the time had come when she could consistently enter upon the work

nearest her heart. In the winter of 1863, she visited Washington, and

the hospitals and camps which were scattered around the city, at

distances of from five to twenty miles. Here she found multitudes of

sick and wounded, all suffering from cold, from hunger, or from

inattention. "Camp Misery," with its twelve thousand convalescents, in a

condition of intense wretchedness moved her sympathies, and led her to

do what she could for them. She returned home at the beginning of April,

and her preparations for another journey were hardly made, before the

battles of Chancellorsville and its vicinity occurred. Here at the

great field hospital of Sedgwick's (Sixth) Corps, she commenced in

earnest her labors in the care of the wounded directly from the field.

For five weeks she worked with an energy and zeal which were the

admiration of all who saw her, and then as Lee advanced toward

Pennsylvania, she returned home for a few days of rest.

Then came Gettysburg, with its three days of terrible slaughter, and

Mrs. Brady was again at her work day and night, furnishing soft food to

the severely wounded, cooling drinks to the thirsty and fever-stricken,

soothing pain, encouraging the men to heroic endurance of their

sufferings, everywhere an angel of comfort, a blessed and healing

presence. More than a month was spent in these labors, and at their

close Mrs. Brady returned to her work in the Hospitals at Philadelphia,

and to preparation for the autumn and winter campaigns. When early in

January, General Meade made his Mine Run Campaign, Mrs. Brady had again

gone to the front, and was exposed to great vicissitudes of weather, and

was for a considerable time in peril from the enemy's fire. Her

exertions and exposures at this time brought on disease of the heart,

and her physician forbade her going to the front again. She however made

all the preparations she could for the coming campaign, and hoped,

though vainly, that she might be permitted again to enter upon the work

she loved. When the great battles of May, 1864, were fought, the

dreadful slaughter which accompanied them, so disquieted her, that it

aggravated her disease, and on the 27th of May, she died, greatly

mourned by all who knew her worth, and her devotion to the national

cause.

The Association continued its work till the close of the war. The amount

of its disbursements, we have not been able to ascertain.

WOMEN'S RELIEF ASSOCIATION OF BROOKLYN AND LONG ISLAND.

The city of Brooklyn, Long Island, and the Island of which it forms the

Western extremity, were from the commencement of the war intensely

patriotic. Regiment after regiment was raised in the city, and its quota

filled from the young men of the city, and the towns of the island, till

it seemed as every man of military age, and most of the youth between

fifteen and eighteen had been drawn into the army. An enthusiastic zeal

for the national cause had taken as complete possession of the women as

of the men. Everywhere were seen the badges of loyalty, and there was no

lack of patient labor or of liberal giving for the soldiers on the part

of those who had either money or labor to bestow. The news of the first

battle was the signal for an outpouring of clothing, hospital stores,

cordials, and supplies of all sorts, which were promptly forwarded to

the field. After each successive engagement, this was repeated, and at

first, the Young Men's Christian Association of the city, a most

efficient organization, undertook to be the almoners of a part of the

bounty of the citizens. Distant as was the field of Shiloh, a delegation

from the Association went thither, bearing a large amount of hospital

stores, and rendered valuable assistance to the great numbers of

wounded. Other organizations sprang up, having in view the care of the

wounded and sick of the army, and many contributors entrusted to the

earnest workers at Washington, the stores they were anxious to bestow

upon the suffering. After the great battles of the summer and autumn of

1862, large numbers of the sick and wounded were brought to Brooklyn,

for care and treatment filling at one time three hospitals. They came

often in need of all things, and the benevolent women of the city formed

themselves into Committees, to visit these hospitals in turn, and

prepare and provide suitable dishes, delicacies, and special diet for

the invalid soldiers, to furnish such clothing as was needed, to read to

them, write letters for them, and bestow upon them such acts of kindness

as should cause them to feel that their services in defense of the

nation were fully appreciated and honored.

There was, however, in these varied efforts for the soldiers a lack of

concentration and efficiency which rendered them less serviceable than

they otherwise might have been. The different organizations and

committees working independently of each other, not unfrequently

furnished over-abundant supplies to some regiments or hospitals, while

others were left to lack, and many who had the disposition to give,

hesitated from want of knowledge or confidence in the organizations

which would disburse the funds. The churches of the city though giving

freely when called upon, were not contributing systematically, or

putting forth their full strength in the service. It was this conviction

of the need of a more methodical and comprehensive organization to which

the churches, committees, and smaller associations should become

tributary, which led to the formation of the Women's Relief Association,

as a branch of the United States Sanitary Commission. This Association

was organized November 23d, 1862, at a meeting held by the Ladies of

Brooklyn, in the Lecture Room of the Church of the Pilgrims, and MRS.

MARIAMNE FITCH STRANAHAN, was chosen President, and Miss Kate E.

Waterbury, Secretary, with an Executive Committee of twelve ladies of

high standing and patriotic impulses. The selection of President and

Secretary was eminently a judicious one. MRS. STRANAHAN was a native of

Westmoreland, Oneida County, New York, and had received for the time,

and the region in which her childhood and youth was passed, superior

advantages of education. She was married in 1837, to Mr. James S. T.

Stranahan, then a merchant of Florence, Oneida County, New York, but who

removed with his family in 1840, to Newark, New Jersey, and in 1845,

took up his residence in Brooklyn. Here they occupied a high social

position, Mr. Stranahan having been elected a Representative to the

Thirty-fourth Congress, and subsequently appointed to other positions of

responsibility in the city and State. Mrs. Stranahan was active in every

good work in the city of her adoption, and those who knew her felt that

they could confide in her judgment, her discernment, her tact, and her

unflinching integrity and principle. For eight years she was the first

Directress of the "Graham Institute, for the relief of Aged and Indigent

Females," a position requiring the exercise of rare abilities, and the

most skilful management, to harmonize the discords, and quiet the

misunderstandings, inevitable in such an institution. Her discretion,

equanimity, and tact, were equal to the duties of the place, and under

her administration peace and quiet reigned. It was probably from the

knowledge of her executive abilities, that she was unanimously chosen to

preside over the Women's Relief Association. This position was also one

requiring great tact and skill in the presiding officer. About eighty

churches of different denominations in Brooklyn, cooeperated in the work

of the Association, and it had also numerous auxiliaries scattered over

the Island. These diverse elements were held together in perfect

harmony, by Mrs. Stranahan's skilful management, till the occasion

ceased for their labors. The Association was from first to last a

perfect success, surpassing in its results most of the branches of the

Commission, and surpassed in the harmony and efficiency of its action by

none.

In her final report Mrs. Stranahan said: "The aggregate of our efforts

including the results of our Great Fair, represents a money value of not

less than half a million of dollars." Three hundred thousand dollars of

this sum were paid into the treasury of the United States Sanitary

Commission in cash; and hospital supplies were furnished to the amount

of over two hundred thousand more. The Great Fair of Brooklyn had its

origin in the Women's Relief Association. At first it was proposed that

Brooklyn should unite with New York in the Metropolitan Fair; but on

further deliberation it was thought that a much larger result would be

attained by an independent effort on the part of Brooklyn and Long

Island, and the event fully justified the opinion. The conducting of

such a fair involved, however, an excessive amount of labor on the part

of the managers; and notwithstanding the perfect equanimity and

self-possession of Mrs. Stranahan, her health was sensibly affected by

the exertions she was compelled to make to maintain the harmony and

efficiency of so many and such varied interests. It is much to say, but

the proof of the statement is ample, that no one of the Sanitary Fairs

held from 1863 to 1865 equalled that of Brooklyn in its freedom from all

friction and disturbing influences, in the earnestness of its patriotic

feeling, and the complete and perfect harmony which reigned from its

commencement to its close. This gratifying condition of affairs was

universally attributed to the extraordinary tact and executive talent of

Mrs. Stranahan.

Rev. Dr. Spear, her pastor, in a touching and eloquent memorial of her,

uses the following language in regard to the success of her

administration as President of the Women's Relief Association; "It is

due to truth to say that this success depended very largely upon her

wisdom and her efforts. She was the right woman in the right place. She

gave her time to the work with a zeal and perseverance that never

faltered, and with a hopefulness for her country that yielded to no

discouragement or despondency. As a presiding officer she discharged her

duties with a self-possession, courtesy, skill, and method, that

commanded universal admiration. She had a quick and judicious insight

into the various ways and means by which the meetings of the

Association would be rendered interesting and attractive. The business

part of the work was constantly under her eye. No woman ever labored in

a sphere more honorable; and but few women could have filled her place.

Her general temper of mind, her large and catholic views as a Christian,

and then her excellent discretion, eminently fitted her to combine all

the churches in one harmonious and patriotic effort. This was her

constant study; and well did she succeed. As an evidence of the

sentiments with which she had inspired her associates, the following

resolution offered at the last meeting of the Association, and

unanimously adopted, will speak for itself:--

"'_Resolved_, That the thanks of the Women's Relief Association are

pre-eminently due to our President, Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan, for

the singular ability, wisdom, and patience with which she has

discharged the duties of her office, at all times arduous, and not

unfrequently requiring sacrifices to which nothing short of the

deepest love of country could have been equal. It is due to

justice, and to the feelings of our hearts, to say that the

usefulness, the harmony, and the continued existence of the Women's

Relief Association, through the long and painful struggle, now

happily ended, have been in a large measure owing to the

combination of rare gifts, which have been so conspicuous to us all

in the guidance of our public meetings, and which have marked not

less the more unnoticed, but equally essential, superintendence of

the work in private.'"

The Rev. Dr. Bellows, President of the United States Sanitary

Commission, thus speaks of Mrs. Stranahan and of the Brooklyn Woman's

Relief Association, of which she was the head:

"Knowing Mrs. Stranahan only in her official character, as head of the

noble band of women who through the war, by their admirable organization

and efficient, patient working, made Brooklyn a shining example for all

other cities--I wonder that she should have left so deep a _personal_

impression upon my heart; and that from a dozen interviews confined

wholly to one subject, I should have conceived a friendship for her

which it commonly takes a life of various intercourse and intimate or

familiar relations to establish. And this is the more remarkable,

because her directness, clearness of intention, and precision of purpose

always kept her confined, in the conversations I held with her, to the

special subject on which we met to take counsel. She had so admirably

ordered an understanding, was so business-like and clear in her habits

of mind, that not a minute was lost with her in beating the bush. With

mild determination, and in a gentle distinctness of tone, she laid her

views or wishes before me, in a way that never needed any other

explanation or enforcement than her simple statement carried with it. In

few, precise, and transparent words, she made known her business, or

gave her opinion, and wasted not a precious minute in generalities, or

on matters aside from our common object. This rendered my official

intercourse with her peculiarly satisfactory. She always knew just what

she wanted to say, and left no uncertainty as to what she had said; and

what she said, had always been so carefully considered, that her wishes

were full of reason, and her advice full of persuasion. She seemed to me

to unite the greatest discretion with the finest enthusiasm. As earnest,

large, and noble in her views of what was due to the National cause, as

the most zealous could be, she was yet so practical, judicious, and

sober in her judgment, that what she planned, I learned to regard as

certain of success. No one could see her presiding with mingled modesty

and dignity over one of the meetings of the Women's Relief Association,

without admiration for her self-possession, propriety of utterance, and

skill in furthering the objects in view. I have always supposed that her

wisdom, resolution, and perseverance, had a controlling influence in the

glorious success of the Brooklyn Relief Association--the most marked and

memorable fellowship of women, united from all sects and orders of

Christians, in one practical enterprise, that the world ever saw."

After the disbanding of the Women's Relief Association, Mrs. Stranahan,

though retaining her profound interest in the welfare of her country,

and her desire for its permanent pacification by such measures as should

remove all further causes of discord and strife, returned to the quiet

of her home, and except her connection with the Graham Institute, gladly

withdrew from any conspicuous or public position. Her health was as we

have said impaired somewhat by her assiduous devotion to her duties in

connection with the Association, but she made no complaint, and her

family did not take the alarm. The spring of 1866 found her so feeble,

that it was thought the pure and bracing air of the Green Mountains

might prove beneficial in restoring her strength, but her days were

numbered. On the 30th of August she died at Manchester, Vermont.

In closing our sketch of this excellent woman, we deem it due to her

memory to give the testimony of two clergymen who were well acquainted

with her work and character, to her eminent abilities, and her

extraordinary worth. Rev. Dr. Farley, says of her:

"When I think of the amount of time, thought, anxious and pains-taking

reflection, and active personal attention and effort she gave to this

great work; when I recall how for nearly three years, with other weighty

cares upon her, and amid failing health, she contrived to give herself

so faithfully and devotedly to carrying it on, I am lost in admiration.

True, she had for coadjutors a company of noble women, worthy

representatives of our great and beautiful city. They represented every

phase of our social and religious life; they were distinguished by all

the various traits which are the growth of education and habit; they had

on many subjects few views or associations in common. In one thing,

indeed, they were united--the desire to serve their country in her hour

of peril, by ministering to the sufferings of her heroic defenders in

the field. Acting on this thought--knowing no personal distinctions

where this was the prevailing sentiment--and treating all with the like

courtesy--she had yet the nice tact to call into requisition for special

emergencies the precise talent which was wanted, and give it its right

direction. Now and then--strange if it had not been so--there would be

some questioning of her proposed measures, some demur to, or reluctance

to accept her suggestions; but among _men_, the case would be found a

rare one, where a presiding officer carried so largely and uniformly,

from first to last, the concurrent judgment and approval of his

compeers.

"I shall always call her to mind as among the remarkable women whom I

have had the good fortune to know. With no especial coveting of

notoriety, she was--as one might say--in the course of nature, or

rather--as I prefer to say--in the order of the Divine Providence,

called to occupy very responsible positions bearing largely on the

public weal; and she was not found wanting. Nay, she was found eminently

fit. All admitted it. And all find, now that she has been taken to her

rest, that they owe her every grateful and honored remembrance."

The Rev. W. J. Budington, D.D., who had known her activity and zeal in

the various positions she had been called to fill, pays the following

eloquent tribute to her memory:

"I had known Mrs. Stranahan chiefly, in common with the citizens of

Brooklyn, as the head of the 'Women's Relief Association,' and thus, as

the representative of the patriotism and Christian benevolence of the

Ladies of Brooklyn, in that great crisis of our national history which

drew forth all that was best in our countrymen and countrywomen, and

nowhere more than in our own city. Most naturally--_inevitably_, I may

say--she became the presiding officer of this most useful and efficient

Association. Possessed naturally of a strong mind, clear in her

perceptions, and logical in her courses of thought, she had, at the

outset of the struggle, the most decided convictions of duty, and

entered into the work of national conservation with a heartiness and

self-devotion, which, in a younger person, would have been called

enthusiasm, but which in her case was only the measure of an enlightened

Christianity and patriotism. She toiled untiringly, in season and out of

season, when others flagged, she supplied the lack by giving more time,

and redoubling her exertions; as the war wore wearily on, and disasters

came, enfeebling some, and confounding others, she rose to sublimer

efforts, and supplied the ranks of the true and faithful who gathered

round her, with the proper watchwords and fresh resources. I both

admired and wondered at her in this regard; and when success came,

crowning the labors and sacrifices of our people, her soul was less

filled with mere exultation than with sober thoughtfulness as to what

still remained to be done. * * * *

"I regard Mrs. Stranahan as one of the most extraordinary of that galaxy

of women, whom the night of our country's sorrow disclosed, and whose

light will shine forever in the land they have done their part--I dare

not say, how great a part--to save."

We should do gross injustice to this efficient Association, if we

neglected to give credit to its other officers, for their faithfulness

and persevering energy during the whole period of its existence.

Especially should the services of its patient and hard-working

Corresponding Secretary, Miss Kate E. Waterbury, be acknowledged. Next

to the president, she was its most efficient officer, ever at her post,

and performing her duties with a thoroughness and heartiness which

called forth the admiration of all who witnessed her zeal and devotion.

Miss Perkins, the faithful agent in charge of the depot of supplies and

rooms of the Association, was also a quiet and persevering toiler for

the promotion of its great objects.

LADIES' UNION RELIEF ASSOCIATIONS OF BALTIMORE.

Amidst the malign influences of secession and treason, entire and

unqualified devotion to the Union, shone with additional brightness from

its contrast with surrounding darkness. In all portions of the South

were found examples of this patriotic devotion, and nowhere did it

display itself more nobly than in the distracted city of Baltimore. The

Union people were near enough to the North with its patriotic sentiment,

and sufficiently protected by the presence of Union soldiery, to be able

to act with the freedom and spontaneity denied to their compatriots of

the extreme South, and they did act nobly for the cause of their country

and its defenders.

Among the ladies of Baltimore, few were more constantly or conspicuously

employed, for the benefit of sufferers from the war, than MRS. ELIZABETH

M. STREETER. With the modesty that almost invariably accompanies great

devotion and singleness of purpose she sought no public notice; but in

the case of one so actively employed in good works, it was impossible to

avoid it.

More than one of the Associations of Ladies formed in Baltimore for the

relief of soldiers, of their families, and of refugees from secession,

owes its inception, organization, and successful career to the mind and

energies of Mrs. Streeter. It may truly be said of her that she has

refused no work which her hands could find to accomplish.

Mrs. Streeter was the wife of the late Hon. S. F. Streeter, Esq., a

well-known citizen of Baltimore, a member of the city Government during

the war, an active Union man, devoted to the cause of his country and

her defenders as indefatigably as his admirable wife. Working in various

organizations, he was made an almoner of the city funds bestowed upon

the families of soldiers, and upon hospitals, and afterwards appointed

in conjunction with George R. Dodge, Esq., to distribute the

appropriation of the State, for the families of Maryland soldiers. Thus

the two were continually working side by side, or in separate spheres of

labor, for the same cause, all through the dark days of the rebellion.

Mrs. Streeter was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, her ancestors, the

Jacksons, having been among the original settlers of the old Colony, and

she has doubtless inherited the ancestral love of freedom. For thirty

years she has been a resident of Baltimore.

On the 16th of October, 1861, she originated the Ladies' Union Relief

Association, of Baltimore, and in connection with other zealous loyal

ladies, carried on its operations for more than a year with great

success. From this as a center, sprang other similar associations in

different parts of the city, and connected with the various hospitals.

After the battle of Antietam, Mrs. Streeter, with Mrs. Pancoast, a most

energetic member of the Association, spent some time on the field

dispensing supplies, and attending to the wants of the wounded,

suffering and dying.

Exhausted by her labors and responsibilities, at the end of a year, Mrs.

Streeter resigned her official connection with the Ladies' Relief

Association, and after a brief period of repose, she devoted herself to

personal visitation of the hospitals, dispensing needed comforts and

delicacies, and endeavoring by conversation with the inmates to cheer

them, stimulate their patriotism, and to make their situation in all

respects, more comfortable.

Subsequently, she connected herself with the hospital attached to the

Union Relief Association, located at 120 South Eutaw Street, Baltimore.

Up to the time of the discontinuance of the work of the Association,

she gave it her daily attendance, and added largely to its resources by

way of supplies.

At this time, Baltimore was thronged by the families of refugees, who

were rendered insecure in their homes by the fact of their entertaining

Union sentiments, or homeless, by some of the bands of marauders which

followed the advance of the Confederate troops when they invaded

Maryland, or, who perhaps, living unfortunately in the very track of the

conflicting armies, found themselves driven from their burning

homesteads, and devastated fields, victims of a wanton soldiery.

Destitute, ragged and shelterless, their condition appealed with

peculiar force to the friends of the Union. State aid was by no means

sufficient, and unorganized charity unavailable to any great extent.

Mrs. Streeter was one of the first to see the need of systematic

assistance for this class. On the 16th of November, 1863, the result of

her interest was seen in the organization of the "Ladies' Aid Society,

for the Relief of Soldiers' Families," which included in its efforts the

relief of all destitute female refugees. A house was taken more

particularly to accommodate these last, and the Association, which

consisted of twenty-five ladies, proceeded to visit the families of

soldiers and refugees in person, inquiring into their needs, and

dispensing money, food, clothing, shoes, fuel, etc., as required. Over

twelve hundred families were thus visited and relieved, in addition to

the inmates of the Home. For this purpose they received from the city

and various associations about seven thousand dollars, and a large

amount from private contributions. In this and kindred work, Mrs.

Streeter was engaged till the close of the war.

The second report of the Maryland Committee of the Christian Commission

thus speaks of the services of the devoted women who proceeded to the

field after the battle of Antietam, and there ministered to the wants of

the suffering and wounded soldiers.

"Attendance in the hospitals upon the wounded at Antietam, was required

for several months after the battle. Services and supplies were

furnished by the Committee, principally through the agency of the ladies

of the Relief Associations, to whom the Committee acknowledge its

indebtedness for important and necessary labors, which none but

themselves could so well perform. The hospitals were located near the

battle-field, and the adjacent towns, and in Baltimore and Frederick

cities. Connected with each of them there was a band of faithful and

devoted women, who waited about the beds of the suffering objects of

their concern, and ministered to their relief and comfort during the

hours of their affliction. Through the months of September, October, and

November, these messengers of mercy labored among the wounded of

Antietam, and were successful in saving the lives of hundreds of the

badly wounded. They had not yet cleared the hospitals, when other

battles added to their number, and made new drafts for services, which

were promptly and cheerfully rendered."

Many times the Committee take occasion to mention the valuable services

of the loyal ladies of Baltimore, and the services of Mrs. Streeter are

specially noticed in the third report in connection with the Invalid

Camp Hospital located at the boundary of the city and county of

Baltimore in the vicinity of Northern Avenue.

"The services to this camp, usually performed by ladies, were under the

supervision of Mrs. S. F. Streeter, who visited the grounds daily, on

several occasions several times a day. The Secretary of the Committee

has frequently met Mrs. Streeter on her errand of benevolence, conveying

to the sufferers the delicacies she had prepared. Her active and

faithful services were continued until the breaking up of the camp."

The ladies of Baltimore worked in connection with the Sanitary and

Christian Commissions, both of which organizations take occasion

frequently to acknowledge their services.

Late in 1864, Mrs. Streeter was called to deep affliction. Her

noble-hearted and patriotic husband, who had been as active as herself

in all enterprises for the welfare of the soldiers, and the promotion of

the cause for which the war was undertaken, was suddenly taken from her,

falling a victim to fever contracted in his ministrations to the sick

and wounded of the Army of the Potomac, and the home and city where his

presence had been to her a joy and delight, became, since he was gone

too full of gloom and sorrow to be borne. Mrs. Streeter returned to her

New England home in the hope of finding there some relief from the grief

which overwhelmed her spirit.

Two other ladies of Baltimore, and doubtless many more, deserve especial

mention in this connection, Miss TYSON, and Mrs. BECK. Active and

efficient members of the Ladies' Relief Association of that city, they

were also active and eminently useful in the field and general

hospitals. To the hospital work they seem both to have been called by

Mrs. John Harris, who to her other good qualities added that of

recognizing instinctively, the women who could be made useful in the

work in which she was engaged.

Miss Tyson was with Mrs. Harris at French's Division Hospital, after

Antietam, and subsequently at Smoketown General Hospital, and after six

or eight weeks of labor there, was attacked with typhoid fever. Her

illness was protracted, but she finally recovered and resumed her work,

going with Mrs. Harris to the West, and during most of the year 1864,

was in charge of the Low Diet Department of the large hospital on

Lookout Mountain. Few ladies equalled her in skill in the preparation of

suitable food and delicacies for those who needed special diet. Miss

Tyson was a faithful, indefatigable worker, and not only gave her

services to the hospitals, but expended largely of her own means for the

soldiers. She was always, however, disposed to shrink from any mention

of her work, and we are compelled to content ourselves with this brief

mention of her great usefulness.

Mrs. Beck was also a faithful and laborious aide to Mrs. Harris, at

Falmouth, and afterwards at the West. She was, we believe, a native of

Philadelphia, though residing in Baltimore. Her earnestness and patience

in many very trying circumstances, elicited the admiration of all who

knew her. She was an excellent singer, and when she sang in the

hospitals some of the popular hymns, the words and melody would often

awaken an interest in the heart of the soldier for a better life.

MRS. C. T. FENN.

Berkshire County, Massachusetts, has long been noted as the birth-place

of many men and women distinguished in the higher ranks of the best

phases of American life, literature, law, science, art, philosophy, as

well as religion, philanthropy, and the industrial and commercial

progress of our country have all been brilliantly illustrated and

powerfully aided by those who drew their first breath, and had their

earliest home among the green hills and lovely valleys of Berkshire.

Bryant gained the inspiration of his poems--sweet, tender, refined,

elevating--from its charming scenery; and from amidst the same scenes

Miss Sedgwick gathered up the quiet romance of country life, often as

deep as silent, and wove it into those delightful tales which were the

joy of our youthful hearts.

The men of Berkshire are brave and strong, its women fair and noble. Its

mountains are the green altars upon which they kindled the fires of

their patriotism. And these fires brightened a continent, and made glad

the heart of a nation.

Berkshire had gained the _prestige_ of its patriotism in two wars, and

at the sound of the signal gun of the rebellion its sons--"brave sons of

noble sires"--young men, and middle-aged, and boys, sprang to arms. Its

regiments were among the first to answer the call of the country and to

offer themselves for its defense. Let Ball's Bluff and the Wilderness,

the Chickahominy, and the deadly swamps and bayous of the Southwest,

tell to the listening world the story of their bravery, their endurance

and their sacrifices.

But these men who went forth to fight left behind them, in their homes,

hearts as brave and strong as their own. If Berkshire has a proud record

of the battle-field, not less proud is that which might be written of

her home work. Its women first gave their best beloved to the defense of

the country, and then, in their desolate homes, all through the slow

length of those horrible, sometimes hopeless years, by labor and

sacrifice, by thought and care, they gave themselves to the more silent

but not less noble work of supplying the needs and ministering to the

comforts of the sick and wounded soldiery.

Foremost among these noble women, as the almoner of their bounty, and

the organizer of their efforts, stands the subject of this sketch, Mrs.

C. T. Fenn, of Pittsfield, whose devotion to the work during the entire

war was unintermitted and untiring.

Mrs. Fenn, whose maiden name was Dickinson, was born in Pittsfield just

before the close of the last century, and with the exception of a brief

residence in Boston, has passed her entire life there. Her husband,

Deacon Curtis T. Fenn, an excellent citizen, and enterprising man of

business, in his "haste to be rich," was at one time tempted to venture

largely, and became bound for others. The result was a failure, and a

removal to Boston with the idea of retrieving his fortunes in new

scenes. Here his only son, a promising young man of twenty-two years,

fell ill, and with the hope of arresting his disease, and if possible

saving his precious life, his parents returned to his native place,

giving up their flattering prospects in the metropolis. It was in vain,

however--in a few months the insidious disease, always so fatal in New

England, claimed its victim, and they were bereaved in their dearest

hopes.

This affliction did not change, but perhaps intensified, the character

of Mrs. Fenn. She was now called to endure labor, and to make many

sacrifices, while her husband was slowly winning his way back to

competence. But ever full of kindness and sympathy, she devoted her time

more unsparingly to doing good. Her name became a synonym for

spontaneous benevolence in her native town. By the bed-sides of the sick

and dying, in the home of poverty, and the haunts of disease, where sin,

and sorrow and suffering, that trinity of human woe are ever to be

found, she became a welcome and revered visitant. All sought her in

trouble, and she withheld not counsel nor aid in any hour of need, nor

from any who claimed them.

This was the prestige with which she was surrounded at the opening of

the war, and her warm heart, as well as her patriotic instincts were at

once ready for any work of kindness or aid it should develop. The

following extract from the Berkshire County Eagle, of May, 1862, tells

better than we can of the estimation in which she was held in her native

town.

"Mrs. Fenn, as most of our Pittsfield readers know, has been for many

years the kind and familiar friend of the sick and suffering. Familiar

with its shades, her step in the sick chamber has been as welcome and as

beneficial as that of the physician. When the ladies were appealed to

for aid for our soldiers suffering from wounds or disease, she entered

into the work with her whole soul and devoted all her time and the skill

learned in years of attendance on the sick to the new necessities.

Possessing the entire confidence of our citizens, and appealing to them

personally and assiduously, she was met by generous and well selected

contributions which we have, from time to time, chronicled. In her

duties at the work room, in preparing the material contributed, she has

had constant and reliable assistance, but very much less than was

needed, a defect which we hope will be remedied. Surely many of our

ladies have leisure to relieve her of a portion of her work, and we

trust that some of our patriotic boys will give their aid, for we learn

that even such duties as the sweeping of the rooms devolve upon her.

"Knowing that Mrs. Fenn's entire time had been occupied for months in

this great and good cause, and that all her time was not adequate to the

manifold duties imposed upon her, we were somewhat surprised to see a

letter addressed to her in print a few weeks since, complimenting her

upon her efforts for the soldiers and asking her to give her aid in

collecting hospital stores for the clinic at the Medical College. Surely

thought we, there ought to be more than one Dorcas in Pittsfield.

Indeed, it occurred to us that there were ladies here who, however

repugnant to aid the soldiers of the North, could, without violence to

their feelings so far as the object is concerned, gracefully employ a

share of their elegant leisure in the service of the Medical College.

But Mrs. Fenn did not refuse the new call, and having let her charity

begin at home with those who are dearest and nearest to our hearts, our

country's soldiers, expanded it to embrace those whose claim is also

imperative, the poor whom we have always with us, and made large

collections for the patients of the clinic.

"We have thus briefly sketched the services of this noble woman, partly

in justice to her, but principally as an incentive to others."

Very early in the war, a meeting of the ladies of Pittsfield was called

with the intention of organizing the services, so enthusiastically

proffered on all hands, for the benefit of the soldiers. It was quite

numerously attended, and the interest and feeling was evidently intense.

But they failed to organize anything beyond a temporary association. All

wanted to work, but none to lead. All looked to Mrs. Fenn as head and

leader, while she was more desirous of being hand and follower. No

constitution was adopted, nor officers elected. But as the general

expression of feeling seemed to be that all should be left in the hands

of Mrs. Fenn, the meeting adjourned with a tacit understanding to that

effect.

And so it remained until the close of the work. Mrs. Fenn continued to

be the life and soul of the movement, and there was never any

organization. In answer to her appeals, the people of Pittsfield, of

many towns in Berkshire, as well as numbers of the adjoining towns in

the State of New York, forwarded to her their various and liberal

contributions. She hired rooms in one of the business blocks, where the

ladies were invited to meet daily for the purpose of preparing clothing,

lint, and bandages, and where all articles and money were to be sent.

Such was the confidence and respect of the people, that they freely

placed in her hands all these gifts, without stint or fear. She received

and disbursed large sums of money and valuable stores of all kinds, and

to the last occupied this responsible position without murmur or

distrust on the part of any, only from time to time acknowledging her

receipts through the public prints.

Pittsfield is a wealthy town, with large manufacturing interests, and

Mrs. Fenn was well sustained and aided in all her efforts, by valuable

contributions. She received also the most devoted and efficient

assistance from numerous ladies. Among these may be named, Mrs. Barnard,

Mrs. Oliver, during the whole time, Mrs. Brewster, Mrs. Dodge, Mrs.

Pomeroy, and many others, either constantly or at all practicable

periods. Young ladies, reared in luxury, and unaccustomed to perform any

laborious services in their own homes, would at the Sanitary Rooms sew

swiftly upon the coarsest work, and shrink from no toil. A few of this

class, during the second winter of the war manufactured thirty-one pairs

of soldiers' trowsers, and about fifty warm circular capes from remnants

of heavy cloth contributed for this use by Robert Pomeroy, Esq., a

wealthy manufacturer of Pittsfield. The stockings, mittens of yarn and

cloth, and hospital clothing of every variety, are too numerous to be

mentioned.

Meanwhile supplies of every kind and description poured in. All of these

Mrs. Fenn received, acknowledged, collected many of them by her own

personal efforts, and then with her own hands arranged, packed, and

forwarded them. During the war more than nine thousand five hundred

dollars' worth of supplies thus passed directly through her hands, and

of these nothing save one barrel of apples at David's Island, was ever

lost.

During the entire four years of the war, she devoted three days of the

week to this work, often all the days. But these three she called the

"soldiers' days," and caused it to be known among her friends that this

was not her time, and could not be devoted to personal work or pleasure.

The Sanitary Rooms were more than half a mile distant from her own home.

But on all these mornings, immediately after breakfast, she proceeded to

them, on foot, (for she kept no carriage), carrying with her, her lunch,

and at mid-day, making herself that old lady's solace, a cup of tea, and

remaining as long as she could see; busily at work, receiving letters,

supplies, acknowledging the same, packing and unpacking, buying needed

articles, cutting out and preparing work, and answering the numerous and

varied calls upon her time. After the fatiguing labors of such a day,

she would again return to her home on foot, unless, as was very

frequently the case, some friend took her up in the street, or was

thoughtful enough to come and fetch her in carriage or sleigh. When we

reflect that these tasks were undertaken in all weathers, and at all

seasons, by a lady past her sixtieth year, during so long a period, we

are astonished at learning that her health was never seriously injured,

and that she was able to perform all her duties with comfort, and

without yielding to fatigue.

In addition to these labors, she devoted much time and personal

attention to such sick and wounded soldiers as fell in her way cheered

and aided many a raw recruit, faltering on the threshhold of his new and

dangerous career. Twice, at least, in each year, she herself proceeded

to the hospitals at New York, or some other point, herself the bearer of

the bounties she had arranged, and in some years she made more frequent

visits.

Early in her efforts, she joined hands with Mrs. Col. G. T. M. Davis,

of New York, (herself a native of Pittsfield, and a sister of Robert

Pomeroy, Esq., of that place), in the large and abundant efforts of that

lady, for the welfare of the sick and wounded soldiers. Mrs. Davis was a

member of the Park Barracks' Ladies' Aid Society, and through her a

large part of the bounty of Berkshire was directed in that channel. The

sick and weary, and fainting men at the Barracks, at the New England

Rooms, and Bedloe's Island, were principally aided by this Association,

which were not long in discovering the great value of the nicely

selected, arranged and packed articles contained in the boxes which had

passed through the hands of Mrs. Fenn, and came from Pittsfield.

But the ladies of this Association, were desirous of concentrating all

their efforts upon the sufferers who had reached New York, while Mrs.

Fenn, and her associates in Berkshire, desired to place no bound or

limit to their divine charity. The soldiers of the whole army were their

soldiers, and all had equal wants, and equal rights. Thus they often

answered individual appeals from a variety of sources, and their

supplies often helped to fit out expeditions, and were sent to Sherman's

and Grant's, and Burnside's forces--to Annapolis, to Alexandria, to the

Andersonville and Libby prisoners, and wherever the cry for help seemed

most importunate.

Among other things, Mrs. Fenn organized a plan for giving refreshments

to the weary soldiers, who from time to time passed through Pittsfield.

A signal gun would be fired when a transport-train reached the station

at Richmond, ten miles distant, and the ladies would hasten to prepare

the palatable lunch and cooling drink, against the arrival of the

wearied men, and to distribute them with their own hands.

In the fall of 1862, Mrs. Fenn, herself, conveyed to New York the

contribution of Berkshire, to the Soldiers' Thanksgiving Dinner at

Bedloe's Island. Among the abundance of good things thus liberally

collected for this dinner, were more than a half ton of poultry, and

four bushels of real Yankee doughnuts, besides cakes, fruit and

vegetables, in enormous quantities. These she greatly enjoyed helping to

distribute.

In the fall of 1864, she had a similar pleasure in contributing to the

dinner at David's Island, where several thousand sick and wounded

soldiers, (both white and colored) returned prisoners, and freedmen were

gathered, fourteen boxes and parcels of similar luxuries. Various

accidents combined to prevent her arrival in time, and her good things

were consequently in part too late for the dinner. There was fortunately

a plenty beside, and the Berkshire's contribution was reserved for the

feast of welcome to the poor starved wrecks so soon to come home from

the privations and cruelties of Andersonville.

Mrs. Fenn however enjoyed the occasion to the fullest, and was welcomed

with such joy and gratitude, by the men who had so often shared the good

things she had sent to the hospitals, as more than repaid her for all

her labors and sacrifices. Many thousands of all classes, sick and

wounded convalescents, and returned prisoners, white and colored troops,

were then gathered there, and on the last day of her stay, Mrs. Fenn

enjoyed the pleasure of personally distributing to each individual in

that vast collection of suffering men, some little gift from the stores

she had brought. Fruit, (apples, or some foreign fruit), cakes, a

delicacy for the failing appetite, stores of stationery, contributed by

the liberal Berkshire manufacturers, papers, books--to each one some

token of individual remembrance. And, with great gusto, she still tells

how she came at last to the vast pavilion where the colored troops were

stationed, and how the dusky faces brightened, and the dark eyes swam in

tears, and the white teeth gleamed in smiles, half joyful, half sad; and

how, after bestowing upon each some token of her visit, and receiving

their enthusiastic thanks, she paused at the door, before bidding them

farewell, and asked if any were there who were sorry for their freedom,

regretted the price they had paid for it, or wished to return to their

old masters, they should say--Aye. "The gentleman from Africa," perhaps

for the first time in his life had a vote. He realized the solemnity of

the moment. A dead silence fell upon the crowd, and no voice was lifted

in that important affirmative. "Very well, boys," again spoke the clear,

kind voice of Mrs. Fenn. "Each of you who is glad to be free, proud to

be a free soldier of his country, and ready for the struggles which

freedom entails, will please to say Aye." Instantly, such a shout arose,

as startled the sick in their beds in the farthest pavilion. No voice

was silent. An irrepressible, exultant, enthusiastic cry answered her

appeal, and told how the black man appreciated the treasure won by such

blood and suffering.

As has been said before, the personal labors of Mrs. Fenn were

unintermitted as long as a sick or wounded soldier remained in any

hospital. After all the hospitals in the neighborhood of New York were

closed, except that of David's Island, months after the suspension of

hostilities, she continued to be the medium of sending to the men there

the contributions of Berkshire, and the supplies her appeals drew from

various sources.

The United Societies of Shakers, at Lebanon and Hancock, furnished her

with many supplies--excellent fruit, cheese, eatables of various kinds,

all of the best, cloth, linen new and old, towels, napkins, etc., etc.,

all of their own manufacture and freely offered. The Shakers are no less

decided than the Quakers in their testimony against war, but they are

also, as a body, patriotic to a degree, and full of kindly feelings

which thus found expression.

At one time Mrs. Fenn with a desire of saving for its legitimate purpose

even the small sum paid for rent, gave up the rooms she had hired, and

for more than a year devoted the best parlor of her own handsome

residence to the reception of goods contributed for the soldiers.

Thousands of dollars' worth of supplies were there received and packed

by her own hands.

Among other things accomplished by this indefatigable woman was the

making of nearly one hundred gallons of blackberry cordial. Most of the

bandages sent from Pittsfield were made by her, and so nicely, that Mrs.

Fenn's bandages became famed throughout the army and hospitals. In all,

they amounted to many thousand yards. One box which accompanied

Burnside's expedition, alone contained over four thousand yards of

bandages, which she had prepared.

Though the bounties she so lavishly sent forth were in a very large

measure devoted to the hospitals in the neighborhood of New York, to the

Soldiers' Rest in Howard Street; New England Rooms, Central Park,

Ladies' Home and Park Barracks, they were still diffused to all parts of

the land. The Army of the Potomac, and of the Southwest, and scores of

scattered companies and regiments shared them. The Massachusetts

Regiments, whether at home or abroad, were always remembered with the

tenderest care, and especially was the gallant Forty-ninth, raised

almost entirely in Berkshire, the object of that helpful solicitude

which never wearied of well-doing.

Almost decimated by disease in the deadly bayous of the Southwest, and

in the fearful conflicts at Port Hudson and its neighborhood in the

summer of 1863, the remnant at length returned to Berkshire to receive

such a welcome and ovation at Pittsfield, on the 22d of August of that

year, as has seldom been extended to our honored soldiery. About fifty

of these men were at once taken to the hospital, and long lay ill, the

constant recipients of unwearied kind attentions from Mrs. Fenn and her

coadjutors.

Much as we have said of the excellent and extensive work performed by

this most admirable woman, space fails us for the detail of the half.

Her work was so various, and so thoroughly good in every department,

both head and hands were so entirely at the service of these her

suffering countrymen, that it would be impossible to tell the half. The

close of the war has brought her a measure of repose, but for such as

she there is no rest while human beings suffer and their cry ascends for

help. Her charities are large to the freedmen, and the refugees who at

the present time so greatly need aid. She is also lending her efforts to

the collection of the funds needful for the erection of a monument to

her fallen soldiers which Pittsfield proposes to raise at an expense of

several thousands of dollars contributed by the people.

At sixty-eight, Mrs. Fenn is still erect, active, and with a countenance

beaming with animation and benevolence, bids fair to realize the wish

which at sight of her involuntarily springs to all lips that her life

may long be spared to the good words and works to which it is devoted.

She has been the recipient of several handsome testimonials from her

towns-people and from abroad, and many a token of the soldier's

gratitude, inexpensive, but most valuable, in view of the laborious and

painstaking care which formed them, has reached her hands and is placed

with worthy pride among her treasures.

MRS. JAMES HARLAN.

There have been numerous instances of ladies of high social position,

the wives and daughters of generals of high rank, and commanding large

bodies of troops, of Governors of States, of Senators and

Representatives in Congress, of Members of the Cabinet, or of other

Government officials, who have felt it an honor to minister to the

defenders of their country, or to aid in such ways as were possible the

blessed work of relieving pain and suffering, of raising up the

down-trodden, or of bringing the light of hope and intelligence back to

the dull and glazed eyes of the loyal whites who escaped from cruel

oppression and outrages worse than death to the Union lines. Among these

will be readily recalled, Mrs. John C. Fremont, Mrs. General W. H. L.

Wallace, Mrs. Harvey, Mrs. Governor Salomon, Mrs. William H. Seward,

Mrs. Ira Harris, Mrs. Samuel C. Pomeroy, Mrs. L. E. Chittenden, Mrs.

John S. Phelps, and, though last named, by no means the least efficient,

Mrs. James Harlan.

Mrs. Harlan is a native of Kentucky, but removed to Indiana in her

childhood. Here she became acquainted with Mr. Harlan to whom she was

married in 1845 or 1846. In the rapid succession of positions of honor

and trust to which her husband was elevated by the people, as

Superintendent of Public Instruction, President of Mount Pleasant

University, United States Senator, Secretary of the Interior, and again

United States Senator, Mrs. Harlan proved herself worthy of a position

by his side. Possessing great energy and resolution and a highly

cultivated intellect, she acquitted herself at all times with dignity

and honor. When the nominal became the actual war, and great battles

were fought, she was among the first to go to the bloody battle-fields

and minister to the wounded and dying. After the battle of Shiloh she

was one of the first ladies on the field, and her labors were incessant

and accomplished great good. Her position as the wife of a distinguished

senator, and her energy and decision of character were used with effect,

and she was enabled to wring from General Halleck the permission

previously refused to all applicants to remove the wounded to hospitals

at Mound City, St. Louis, Keokuk, and elsewhere, where their chances of

recovery were greatly improved. At Washington where she subsequently

spent much of her time, she devoted her energies first to caring for the

Iowa soldiers, but she soon came to feel that all Union soldiers were

her brothers, and she ministered to all without distinction of State

lines. She lost during the war a lovely and beautiful daughter, Jessie

Fremont Harlan, and the love which had been bestowed upon her overflowed

after her death upon the soldiers of the Union. Her faithfulness,

energy, and continuous labors in behalf of the soldiers, her earnestness

in protecting them from wrongs or oppression, her quick sympathy with

their sorrows, and her zealous efforts for their spiritual good, will be

remembered by many thousands of them all over the country. Mrs. Harlan

early advocated the mingling of religious effort with the distribution

of physical comforts among the soldiers, and though she herself would

probably shrink from claiming, as some of her enthusiastic friends have

done for her, the honor of inaugurating the movement which culminated in

the organization of the Christian Commission, its plan of operations was

certainly fully in accordance with her own, and she was from the

beginning one of its most active and efficient supporters.

Mrs. Harlan was accompanied in many of her visits to the army by Mrs.

Almira Fales, of whom we have elsewhere given an account, and whose

husband having been the first State Auditor of Iowa, was drawn to her

not only by the bond of a common benevolence, but by State ties, which

led them both to seek the good of the soldiers in whom both felt so deep

an interest. Mrs. Harlan continued her labors for the soldiers till

after the close of the war, and has been active since that time in

securing for them their rights. Her health was much impaired by her

protracted efforts in their behalf, and during the year 1866 she was

much of the time an invalid.

NEW ENGLAND SOLDIERS' RELIEF ASSOCIATION.

The "New England Society," of New York City, is an Association of long

standing, for charitable and social purposes, and is composed of natives

of New England, residing in New York, and its vicinity. Soon after the

outbreak of the war, this society became the nucleus of a wider and less

formal organization--the Sons of New England. In April, 1862, these

gentlemen formed the New England Soldiers' Relief Association, whose

object was declared to be "to aid and care for all sick and wounded

soldiers passing through the city of New York, on their way to or from

the war." On the 8th of April, its "Home," a building well adapted to

its purposes, was opened at No. 198 Broadway, and Dr. Everett Herrick,

was appointed its resident Surgeon, and Mrs. E. A. Russell, its Matron.

The Home was a hospital as well as a home, and in its second floor

accommodated a very considerable number of patients. Its Matron was

faithful and indefatigable in her performance of her duties, and in the

three years of her service had under her care more than sixty thousand

soldiers, many of them wounded or disabled.

A Women's Auxiliary Committee was formed soon after the establishment of

the Association, consisting of thirty ladies who took their turn of

service as nurses for the sick and wounded through the year, and

provided for them additional luxuries and delicacies to those furnished

by the Association and the Government rations. These ladies, the wives

and daughters of eminent merchants, clergymen, physicians, and lawyers

of the city, performed their work with great faithfulness and assiduity.

The care of the sick and wounded men during the night, devolved upon the

Night Watchers' Association, a voluntary committee of young men of the

highest character, who during a period of three years never failed to

supply the needful watchers for the invalid soldiers.

The ladies in addition to their services as nurses, took part in a choir

for the Sabbath services, in which all the exercises were by volunteers.

The Soldiers' Depot in Howard Street, New York, organized in 1863, was

an institution of somewhat similar character to the New England

Soldiers' Relief, though it recognized a primary responsibility to New

York soldiers. It was founded and sustained mainly by State

appropriations, and a very earnest and faithful association of ladies,

here also bestowed their care and services upon the soldiers. Mrs. G. T.

M. Davis, was active and prominent in this organization.