received from various auxiliaries of the ladies' of the Union Veteran
Legion.
The Red Cross Committee assisted in the establishment of a temporary
home in this city for the returning volunteers. The existence of this
home was limited to two months. The time will expire November 10, when
it will be broken up. It has cared for a daily average of sixty
soldiers. The Red Cross assisted by furnishing cots and furniture. Mrs.
Calver, of our committee, is in charge, and it is conducted without
expense to the Red Cross.
The total amount expended in the Railway Relief work, in feeding men as
they passed through the city, was $2637.13.
Arrangements were also made after this work closed to look after all the
sick soldiers, who came in at the several railroad stations.
The treasurer, C.J. Bell, will transmit a full report, with vouchers for
all expenditures which have been up to this date, $7560, and with
outstanding bills amounting to about $1000 more.
A large number of ladies rendered excellent service in making sheets,
pillow-cases, mosquito nets, pajamas, bandages and articles too numerous
to mention. Many volunteer nurses were anxious to go where they could
render service to the sick and wounded.
It is gratifying to be able to state that whatever view the surgeons and
other officers may have had as to the need of the Red Cross at the
beginning of the war, at the close they joined with the private soldiers
in testifying to its wonderful and efficient work.
Among the principal donations were those from the Lutheran Church
Society, Hagerstown, Md., consisting of 50 pajamas, 50 suits of
underclothing, 50 nightshirts, 40 sheets, 250 pairs of socks, 100
towels, 200 handkerchiefs, 75 rolls of bandages, delicacies and sundry
articles. There were also daily contributions of different supplies,
demonstrating the general interest taken in our work.
There were distributed by this committee, in part, 800 sheets, 500
pillow-cases, 800 suits of pajamas, 1500 suits of underclothing, 1600
abdominal bandages, 800 pairs of socks, 750 nightshirts, 350 mosquito
bars, 100 rubber sheets, 400 pairs of slippers, 2000 palm leaf fans, 75
large boxes of soap, 150 cots, 250 mattresses, 100 pairs of blankets,
275 pillows, $1000 worth of groceries, $300 malted milk, $850 soups and
bouillons, $725 medicines and surgical supplies, $250 wines and liquors,
and $1050 milk, a great variety and quantity of smaller articles and
supplies.
The following supplies were received from the general New York
Committee: 50 boxes of ivory soap, 50 rubber sheets, 400 suits of
underwear, 250 sheets, 250 pillow-cases, 250 nightshirts, 200 pairs of
slippers, 500 suits of pajamas, $200 worth of malted milk, beef extract
and Mellin's food, $700 worth of canned soups and bouillons and $6000
cash.
In closing, permit me to thank Vice-President Barton and the Executive
Committee for prompt and liberal responses to every request made for aid
of any character, and for immediately recognizing the fact that the
committee at this point had a work placed upon it very extensive and
unique in character, and requiring a large outlay of money and service.
I desire to call to your special attention the great service rendered by
Mrs. E.S. Mussey, who, during the absence of Mrs. Foster and myself from
the city, acted as chairman of the committee, and for two months gave
nearly all of her time to its service, visiting different camps and
hospitals, and in the work devolving upon her she was untiring and
unusually efficient.
Much complaint has been made as to the location of Camp Alger, because
of the prevalence of typhoid and malarial fever, and the absence of
water supply both for drinking and bathing purposes. A personal
knowledge of this section of Virginia, extending over many years,
enables me to state that it has been regarded as unusually healthy, and
a most desirable section for homes, the growth and development of which
would have been very rapid had there been an additional bridge giving
greater facilities for crossing the Potomac. The water there has been
considered pure and healthy, and used by many families without bad
results.
Falls Church, near this camp, has been regarded as one of the healthiest
and most desirable suburbs of the National Capital. The topography of
the ground and the presence of a large amount of shade were very
suitable for the purposes of camp life. It was, however, evident, even
to the inexperienced eye of a layman, that good, practical daily
scavenger service aided by the effective use of disinfectants was sadly
needed both for the comfort and health of the men; that the presence of
numerous booths, stands and peddlers engaged in selling soft drinks,
fruits, cakes, candy, etc., tended to further demoralize the already
interrupted digestion of the soldiers. No matter what the general orders
were they could not be made effective without the earnest and
intelligent co-operation of regimental officers and soldiers. Could this
be secured within two or three months from men not experienced in war? A
feeling of individual responsibility appeared to be lacking. One of the
most useful officers who can be detailed for camp duty is an inspector,
one who will not only inspect daily, but insist that the men take care
of themselves, and co-operate to prevent disease, especially in keeping
the camp in proper sanitary condition by constant attention to sinks and
the water supply.
The Red Cross entered upon its great work at the beginning of the war
under many difficulties. Instead of being aided and encouraged in an
undertaking that comprehended the generous spirit of the nation, its
mission was oftimes interrupted and hindered by officers of prominence
and rank. It is proper to say, however, that the President and Secretary
of War were at all times deeply interested in our work, and did all in
their power to expedite our plans. There appeared to be a jealous
apprehension in some quarters that the Red Cross would interfere with
established institutions. What it has accomplished is a matter of
history, daily recorded in the public press, it has not been aggressive,
nor has it dominated any legitimate authority. It has sought to be the
servant and not the master. As one general particularly friendly to the
organization remarked, "the Red Cross has not been the foe, but the
friend of every one, even of red tape."
If we had any criticism to make it would be in favor of more practical
common sense dealing with all matters especially those pertaining to the
camp and hospital, and of the necessity of fixing individual
responsibility so as to be certain of results as well as orders.
Many high-minded and patriotic officers have been blamed where they
ought to have been praised; one distinguished professional man dying
from the effects of undeserved fault finding.
If another war should ever come to us as a nation, we trust the lessons
of that which has just closed will not be forgotten. Many of the very
best and most conscientious surgeons are not business men. Men who have
not had business experience in time of peace cannot be expected to learn
at once new methods in time of war so as to perfect or harmonize a great
system. Should not the executive officer in every large hospital be
selected somewhat with reference to his business capacity? Good surgeons
and physicians have enough to occupy them in attending to their
professional duties. They had too much to attend to in most instances
during the Spanish war, and the number of deaths in comparison to the
number of sick and wounded has been surprisingly small.
I want to place upon record the generous kindness of Dr. and Mrs. J.
Ford Thompson in tendering to the committee the use of house No. 1310 G
Street for headquarters; W.B. Moses & Sons for furniture loaned for our
use; Springman & Sons for free transportation of goods; to the railroads
for reduction of fare; to the Falls Church Electric Railroad, and
Washington and Norfolk Steamship Company for free transportation; to the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company for telephone, and to all who
generously worked and contributed for the success of the committee.
The army and navy embodied the power of the government in the Spanish
war, but the Red Cross in a large degree represented the affectionate
regard of the American people, for those who went out to defend the flag
of the Union, and their great desire to mitigate in every possible way
the sufferings resulting from exposure, disease and conflict, as well as
to relieve distress wherever it existed.
Courage and charity go hand in hand, and when the smoke of battle has
rolled away, and the tattoo and reveille are memories of the past; when
the white tents of the camps are folded; the equipment of war is
exchanged for the implements of peace the appreciation of the citizen
soldier for the Red Cross will grow in volume as he sits by his fireside
and tells how its ministries gave relief and aid to his comrades and
himself in the camp, the hospital, at Siboney, Santiago, Porto Rico and
elsewhere, and how it extended succor even to his enemies when the
conflict ceased.
The Red Cross of peace will outlive the Red Flag of war, even as charity
shall survive the force of arms. Let us hope that the former ensign may
soon float by the side of the flags of all the nations and peoples of
the world, as an evidence of the advance of civilization, and the
universal desire that there be no more war; that men everywhere are
ready to extend a helping hand to all who suffer from disaster or
disease. When this glad day comes war will be no more. Arbitration will
be the supreme power.
And may I say, in closing, that no one during the past quarter of a
century has in a larger degree aided in the cultivation of peace and
good will among men and the promotion of a spirit of fraternity among
the peoples of the earth than the president of the American National Red
Cross, who, during the Spanish war, has rendered such valuable and
indefatigable service in the cause of humanity.
[Illustration: ON SAN JUAN HILL, SANTIAGO.]
CAMP THOMAS.
The agent first appointed for Chickamauga Park, was Dr. Charles R. Gill.
Shortly afterwards, however, Dr. Gill expressed a desire to go to Cuba,
and he was relieved, Mr. E.C. Smith being placed in charge of this
field, which proved eventually to be one of the most important stations
of the Red Cross. As the demands of the camp increased, Mr. A.M. Smith
was sent to assist his brother in the work. Their services have been
eminently satisfactory to all concerned, and many voluntary expressions
of appreciation have been received. All requisitions for assistance were
promptly filled by the Executive Committee in New York, and in addition
to the large amount of supplies sent, about $16,000 in cash were
expended at the camp. Mr. Smith, in his report on the work done at this
camp, says:
The headquarters of the American National Red Cross, at Camp Thomas,
Chickamauga Park, Ga., was located alongside the historic Brotherton
House, which was in the thickest of the fight in 1863. No array of mere
numerals written to express dollars, or tables of figures standing for
quantities, could in comprehensive sense tell the story of Red Cross
work at Chickamauga, in 1898. The record is written indelibly in the
hearts of thousands of soldiers who were stricken with disease on this
battlefield, and the story has been told at quiet home firesides in
every State of the Union.
All those who have labored in the work of mercy have been repaid a
thousandfold in words of thankfulness and appreciation from fevered
lips, and the praise of Christian men and women throughout the country.
In answer to the petitions of anxious wives, mothers and fathers, and
the tender prayers of prattling infants, God put strength in the arms of
the noble women who wore the badge of the Red Cross, and made them
heroic in an hour of great trial.
[Illustration: SPANISH GUERILLAS.]
[Illustration: A MOUNTED ADVANCE, RECONNOITRING.]
It has been testified by the gallant survivors of Santiago, and other
sanguinary engagements, that the chief terror was carried to the hearts
of our gallant men through the awful silence of the enemy's bullets, and
the mystery which enshrouded their position because of the use of
smokeless powder, leaving no mark for retaliation. Here in Chickamauga,
men fell from the ranks day after day, who seemed to have been
singled out as the most robust and hardy of all, and were carried
helpless to the regimental, division, corps, and general hospitals,
stricken by an unseen foe. The danger lurked in the air that all
breathed, and the apparently pure, limpid water, God's greatest gift to
man, became his deadliest enemy.
When the plague descended on the camp, and a full realization of present
and impending horrors was forced upon all intelligent minds, frantic
efforts were made to stay the progress of the destroyer, but the seeds
had been sown, and the epidemic was fated to run its course. It seemed
incongruous that such a spot should be so afflicted; in all the wide
continent there is no fairer place. The valley stretching between
Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge is one of the most beautiful of
all the fertile valleys of the world; sunshine and shade here mingle to
satisfy every sense. Our boys entered the park joyfully, and all who
should have known of the requirements of a camp, pronounced it an ideal
spot. There was no adequate preparation for the unexpected, which some
say "always happens." The action of the Red Cross redeemed the
situation. Stephen E. Barton, chairman of the Executive Committee,
promptly authorized measures to alleviate suffering, to quote the
language of the authorization, "without stint." Elias Charles Smith, the
field agent of the Red Cross, acting at once on the orders of his
superior, proceeded to find ways, the means being furnished. Milk and
ice were the chief requisites. All the farming country surrounding the
camp was called upon to supply the milk, some of it coming from as far
as Biltmore, N.C., from the celebrated dairy of a millionaire.
The ice came from Chattanooga, and both ice and milk were supplied
without delay, with no red tape, no halting, "without stint," to the
sick. Requisitions for carloads of delicacies were sent by telegraph,
and when the needs were urgent the goods came, not by freight but by
express. Soups, wines, fruit, and in fact every conceivable article that
could contribute to the comfort and recovery of the sick was sent for,
dispatched, received and distributed. There were no "middle men" to
question or quibble about the advisability of things being done, no
halting and haggling about how things should be done. The field agent of
the Red Cross ascertained the urgent necessities of the sick, through
the best official sources, and--presto!--the necessities were on the
ground and in use.
The problem of nursing was coincident. Men in the division and other
hospitals were willing, no doubt, but there was "lack of woman's
nursing." There was no "dearth of woman's tears,"--at home.
The Red Cross Auxiliary No. 3 of New York, through the agency of Miss
Maud Cromlein in the field, took up this work. At one time there were
140 young women graduate nurses in the service of the Red Cross in this
camp, mainly at Sternberg Hospital. How to care for this large number of
refined young women, unused to the hardships of camp life, was a serious
problem. Dormitories were built to shelter them, and furnished for their
comfort. A contract was made with a steam laundry at Chattanooga to wash
their clothing and everything possible was done to make their stay at
least endurable. Some fell sick, of course, and were tenderly cared for
or furloughed and sent to their homes. Under the direction of Miss
Maxwell a perfect system was established in all the work, which
commanded the respect and approbation of the medical officers. Diet
kitchens were introduced, and the sick were furnished with every
necessary delicacy.
It is now a matter of history that this first organized experiment of
using women in large numbers as nurses in a field hospital has been an
unqualified success. It has the official approval of the medical
officers of the government from Surgeon-General Sternberg to the
smallest, humblest subaltern.
The Red Cross did not confine its efforts to the help of nurses wearing
the Red Cross. At the old Third Division First Corps Hospital, afterward
called Sanger, Sisters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy ministered to the
sick. The same attention was given to them; all requisitions for milk
and ice and delicacies were promptly filled. One of these noble women,
Sister Stella Boyle, wrote, "We are overwhelmed with your kindness--what
should we have done without the Red Cross!" Leiter Hospital received the
same help; milk and ice and delicacies were furnished "promptly and
without stint." That was the watchword. And so with the regimental
hospitals; the surgeons in charge made requisition for necessary
supplies and they were forthcoming, even to the day of the departure of
the last troops from the camp, the hospital trains being supplied as
well. Thus the Red Cross followed the sick to the doors of their own
homes.
The Christian women of Chattanooga belonging to the Epworth League and
the churches of that city, did a greatly needed work in establishing
hospitals for the care of sick soldiers enroute. They were amazed and
delighted when they learned they could make requisition on the Red Cross
for necessary supplies.
Field Agent E.C. Smith, frail of body but stout of soul, was stricken at
his post of duty with typhoid September 12, but is convalescent and
rapidly gaining strength. When Miss Cromlein and Miss Maxwell retired
about the same date, they were succeeded by Miss Gladwin and Miss
Lounsbury, who have ably managed the affairs of the Red Cross at
Sternberg. Under my direction Miss Gladwin recently visited Anniston,
Ala., and found the service of the Red Cross greatly needed at Camp
Shipp. Miss Gladwin has established a Diet Kitchen at that camp and has
done much to better the condition of the soldiers in the camp hospitals.
There are still 200 sick at Sternberg and 50 at Leiter, but these will
soon I hope be furloughed and returned to their homes.
All who have represented the Red Cross at Chickamauga have worked with
the greatest self-denial and enthusiasm with full appreciation of the
lofty aims of the society and with personal pride. When the roll of
honor is made up, I know of no name that should be omitted.
[Illustration: U.S.S. "OREGON."]
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
At Jacksonville, Fla., the work at the camp was under the direction of
the Rev. Alexander Kent, of Washington, D.C., who has been a member of
the American National Red Cross for many years. He began his duties
about the middle of June and, assisted by his son, continued until the
order for the abandonment of the camp was issued. The territory covered
by this agency included also the camps at Miami and Fernandina. The
affairs of the Red Cross in this field were most efficiently conducted
and with great credit to Dr. Kent and his assistant. In addition to the
medical and hospital supplies and delicacies, which were furnished in
great quantities, over thirteen thousand dollars were spent in adding to
the comforts of the sick and convalescent. Dr. Kent makes the following
interesting report:
On June 16 I arrived in Jacksonville, in company with Miss Clara Barton,
then on her way to Key West and Santiago. We visited Camp Cuba Libre in
the afternoon, when I enjoyed the great advantage of being presented by
Miss Barton to several of the officials as the representative of the Red
Cross at this point. On the following morning I visited the
hospital--that of the Second Division, the First being at Miami and the
Third not formed--where I found what appeared to me to be very
distressing and unhealthful conditions. The number of patients at that
time was small, but, few as they were, no adequate provision had been
made for their comfort. Most of them, indeed, were on cots, but few had
either sheets or nightshirts to cover their nakedness. They were either
lying in soiled underclothing, sweltering in the heat under army
blankets, or destitute of any clothing whatever. I lost no time in
ordering one hundred sheets, with the same number of pillow-cases and
ticks, having assurance from one of the surgeons that the latter could
be readily filled with moss and pine needles, making a comfort-giving
and healthful pillow. By the time this need was met I learned that the
sick were destitute of suitable food, so I made it my next business to
provide a sufficiency of this. No sooner had I begun this work than I
had to face the fact that the hospital had no proper facilities for
cooking this food and no place in which to care for it and keep it cool
and sweet when prepared. So I purchased a large Blue Flame oil stove and
a No. 6 Alaska ice chest. I soon discovered that the patients were
suffering from want of ice and made haste to secure an adequate supply
of this. But in all these things adequate provision for one week was no
adequate provision for the next. Patients came into the hospital in
ever-increasing numbers; cots, sheets, pillows and pillow-cases had to
be doubled and trebled and quadrupled as the weeks went by. The
government provided many sheets, many cots and many pillows, but the
demand ever outran the supply, and the Red Cross was called on
continually to make up the lack. In the matter of ice, milk, eggs,
lemons, malted milk, peptonoids, clam bouillon, beef extract, calfsfoot
jelly, gelatine, cornstarch, tapioca, condensed milk, rice, barley,
sugar, butter, and delicacies of all kinds, the government made no
provision, neither did the hospital from its ration fund. All supplies
of this kind were furnished by the Red Cross or by other charitable or
beneficent agencies. So far as I have been able to learn, and I
questioned those in charge of the division hospitals, no use was made of
the ration fund in the Jacksonville hospitals in the way of procuring
delicacies for patients. The sole reliance for these things was the Red
Cross and similar agencies of individual and organized beneficence.
Of individual beneficence the most marked examples were Mrs. Marshall,
proprietor of the Carleton Hotel; Mrs. Moulton, wife of Colonel Moulton,
of the Second Illinois, and Mrs. Rich, a quiet, modest lady of this
city. These gave their whole time to the work of devising ways and means
for promoting the comfort and health of the sick. They made chicken
broth, ice cream, wine jellies and a variety of delicacies grateful to
the palates of the sick soldiers. Other Jacksonville ladies did much in
this direction, but these ladies were constant and untiring in their
efforts. Though Mrs. Marshall had many of the soldiers cared for free of
charge at her own hotel, never for a day was she absent from the camp.
She was a veritable ministering angel, and the Red Cross is greatly
indebted to her for much of the information that helped us to give
wisely and when most needed. Through Mrs. Moulton many of the good
people of Chicago bestowed their benefactions. Five days out of every
week found Mrs. Rich at one of the division hospitals, making her ice
cream for the boys and giving them a taste of her delicious wine
jellies. When the Red Cross learned of her excellent work it took pains
to keep her supplied with all needed material, beside furnishing a
twenty-five quart ice cream freezer with which to do her work. All of
these women deserve a more extended and a worthier tribute than we can
pay them in this report.