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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    all adequate to its work. The more money it commands, the more hospital] supplies, restoratives, and beneficent material of every kind, it can apply to the relief of the army.” In a letter published in this statement, a member of the Com- mission writes to his colleagues, from the battle-field of Ma- nassas, Ya., Sept. 7th: Everything we brought came into play. From Saturday to Wednesday nearly two thousand of our wounded lay on the battle-field without food or water. Even the surgons were starving. One told me that he was glad to pick up a piece of cracker he found lying in the mud, and to eat it. The suffer- ings of the wounded during this interval were alleviated by a heavy thunder-shower, which gave their lips the only water they tasted. Some of them were taken to farm-houses, some received , food from* the country people, but many., very many^ died of starvation and exposure.” ***** * * * * «^ great battle may be soon expected. Urge our loyal people at the North, to send supplies to the Cooper Institute depot in New York, and to the Philadelphia depdt, as fast as possible. Buy as liberally as the state of the treasury will permit. You cannot accumulate too lai^e a stock of cloth- ing, and of hospital supplies of every sort. 1 should almost ad- vise you to run in debt, if necessary, for I am confident the liberal and patriotic people of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston will carry us through.” / The foregoing brief summary of the Commission’s first year’s experience in efforts to furnish supplementary aid for the succor of the wounded in battle, presents an outline of the origin and progress of this important branch of Belief. The duty and ne- cessity of attempting such voluntary aid were apparent, but the possibility of rendering k in a manner that would be entirely acceptable and successful, was a problem which the Commis- sion’s agents must solve, and fortunately that problem was satis- facto 'ily solved, and the largest resources of succor which the Commission could then command were acceptably applied for the