The Sanitary Commission of the United States Army : a succinct narrative of its works and purposes.

Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Sanitary Commission of the United States Army : a succinct narrative of its works and purposes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the mimerous battle-fields of the summer of 1862, the Commis- sion was impelled by urgent considerations of duty to the wounded and to the country to put its hand to the very bottom of its Treasur}^, and to the last packages in its Central Depots, In a statement then published [Document bTo. 48] the following facts are mentioned by a member of the Com.mission writing from the field, on the fourth day subsequent to the battle of Antietam: “ It should be remembered, that so rapid was the movement of the army through Washington, after the disaster and losses of the Yirginia campaign, that the regimental, and brigade, and division medical ofiicers could not, to any considerable extent, replenish t|ieir exhausted supplies. The medical supplies sent to meet the emergency on Wed- nesda, did not begin to arrive on the battle-field until Saturday afternoon, and then in small quantity and entirely inadequate. Many of the same supplies are still here (at Frederick), awaiting transportation, while the Commission has had at least four wagon trains sent to the front that left Washington subsequent to Wednesday afternoon, in addition to two sent before in antic- ipation of the battle. You can estimate at your office the number of wagons ^ve have sent forward, including Hay’s trains, which will be on the battle-field this afternoon. As soon as Brink and Mitchell and Parsons arrived on the battle-field, I sent them over radii, previously ascertained to be within the circle of the late battles. They will be able to state personally the fields of their operations, as I desired them to keep notes. I left Dun- ning’s Avagon—in fact all the two-horse wagons and ambulances of our train—constantly going, and carrying relief to thousands of wounded. The wounded were mainly clustered about barns, occupying the barn-yards, and floors, and stables, having plenty of good straw, ^vell broken by the power threshing machine. I saw fif- teen hundred wounded men lying upon the straw about two barns, within sight of each other! Indeed, there is not a barn, or farm-house, or store, or church, or school-house, between Boonesborougli, Keedysville, and Sharpsburgh, and the latter and Smoketown, that is not gorged with wounded—rebel and Union, Even the corn-cribs, and in many instances the cow- stable, and in one place the mangers, were filled. Several thou- sands lie in the open air, upon straw, and all are receiving the kind services of the farmers’ families and the surgeons.