Chapter XXVIII: Part III (3)

"The Hutchinson family, than whom no sweeter songsters gladden this sorrow-darkened world, have been singing in Washington, to the President, and to immense audiences, everywhere giving unmixed delight. Week before last they obtained a pass to the camps the other side of the Potomac, with the laudable purpose of spending a month among them, cheering the hearts of the soldiers, and enlivening the monotonous and barren camp life with their sweet melody. But they ventured to sing a patriotic song--a beautiful song of Whittier's, which gave offense to a few semi-secessionists among the officers of the army, for which they were severely reprimanded by Generals Franklin and Kearny, their pass revoked by General McClellan, and they driven back to Washington. A backward movement was ordered instanter, and no sooner ordered, than executed. Brave Franklin! heroic Kearny! victorious McClellan! why did ye not order a Te Deum on the occasion of this great victory over a band of Vermont minstrels, half of whom were--girls! How must the hearts of the illustrious West-Pointers have pit-a-patted with joy, and dilated with triumph, as they saw the Hutchinson troupe--Asa B., and Lizzie C., little Dennett and Freddy, _naive_ Viola, melodeon and all--scampering back through the mud, bowed beneath the weight of their military displeasure! Per contra to this expulsion, be it remembered that it occurred within sight of the residence of a family, in which there are some five or six young ladies, who, it is alleged, have been promised "passes" to go South whenever they are disposed to do so,--carrying, of course, all the information they can for the enemy. The bands of the regiments are also sent to serenade them, and on these occasions orders are given _to suppress the national airs_, as being offensive to these traitors in crinoline."

During the year 1862, Mrs. Livermore, besides the constant flow of communications from her pen, visited the army at various points, and in company with her friend, Mrs. Hoge, travelled over the Northwestern states, organizing numerous Aid Societies among the women of those states, who were found everywhere anxious for the privilege of working for the soldiers, and only desirous of knowing how best to accomplish this purpose, and through what channel they might best forward their benefactions.

In December of that year, the Sanitary Commission called a council, or convention of its members and branches at Washington, desiring that every Branch Commission in the North should be represented by at least two ladies thoroughly acquainted with its workings, who had been connected with it from the first. Mrs. Hoge and Mrs. Livermore were appointed by the Chicago Branch.

They accordingly proceeded to Washington--a long and arduous journey in mid winter, but these were not women to grudge toil or sacrifice, nor to shrink from duty.

Both these ladies had laid their talents upon the altar of the cause in which they were engaged, and both felt the pressing necessity at that time of a determined effort to relieve the frightful existing need. Sanitary supplies were decidedly on the decrease, while the demand for their increase was most piteously pressing. There was a strong call for the coming "council" of friends.

There were hindrances and delays. Delay at starting, in taking a regiment on board the cars, necessitating other delays, and waiting for trains on time through the whole distance.

The days spent in Washington were filled with good deeds, and a thousand incidents all connected in some way with the great work. Of the results of that council, the public was long since informed, and few who were interested in the work, did not learn to appreciate the more earnest labor, the greater sacrifice and self-devotion which soon spread from it through the country. Spirits, self-consecrated to so holy a work, could scarcely meet without the kindling of a flame that should spread all over the country, till every tender woman's heart, in all the land, had been touched by it, to the accomplishment of greater and brighter deeds.

While in Washington, Mrs. Livermore spent a day at the camp near Alexandria, set apart for convalescents from the hospitals, and known as "Camp Misery." The suffering there, as we have already stated in the sketch of Miss Amy M. Bradley's labors, was terrible from insufficient food, clothing and fuel, from want of drainage, and many other causes, any one of which might well have proved fatal to the feeble sufferers there crowded together. The pen of Mrs. Livermore carried the story of these wrongs all around the land. While she was in Washington, eighteen half sick soldiers died at the camp in one night, from cold and starvation. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church," and the blood of these soaking into the soil where dwelt patriotic, warm-souled men and women, presently produced a noble growth and fruitage of charity, and sacrifice, and blessed deeds.

Mrs. Livermore has given her impressions of the President, gained from a visit made to the White House during this stay. She was one capable fully of appreciating the noble, simple, yet lofty nature of Abraham Lincoln.

Early in this year, Mrs. Livermore made a tour of the hospitals and military posts scattered along the Mississippi river. She was everywhere a messenger of good tidings. Sanitary supplies and cheering words seem to have been always about equally appreciated among the troops. Volunteers, fresh from home, and the quiet comfort of domestic life, willing to fight, and if need be die for the glorious idea of freedom, they yet had no thought of war as a profession. It was a sad, stern incident in their lives, but not the life they longed for, or meant to follow. Anything that was like home, the sight of a woman's face, or the sound of her voice, and all the sordid hardness of their present lives, all the martial pageantry faded away, and they remembered only that they were sons, brothers, husbands and fathers. Everywhere her reception was a kind, a respectful, and even a grateful one.

There was much sickness among the troops, and the fearful ravages of scurvy and the deadly malaria of the swamps and bottom-lands along the great river were enemies far more to be dreaded than the thunder of artillery, or the hurtling shells.

During this trip she found in the hospitals, at St. Louis, and elsewhere, large numbers of female nurses, and ladies who had volunteered to perform these services temporarily. The surgeons were at that time, almost without exception, opposed to their being employed in the hospitals, though their services were afterwards, as the need increased, greatly desired and warmly welcomed. For these she soon succeeded in finding opportunities for rendering the service which they desired to the sick and wounded.

Were it possible in the space allowed for this sketch, to give a tithe of the incidents which came under the eyes of Mrs. Livermore, or even a small portion of her observations in steamer, train, or hospital, some idea of the magnitude and importance of her work might be gained. But this we cannot do, and must content ourselves with this partial allusion to her constant and indefatigable labors.

The premonitory symptoms of scurvy in the camps around Vicksburg, and its actual existence in many cases in the hospitals, so aroused the sympathies of Mrs. Livermore and Mrs. Hoge, on a second visit to these camps, that after warning General Grant of the danger which his medical directors had previously concealed from him, these two ladies hastened up the river, and by their earnest appeals and their stirring and eloquent circulars asking for onions, potatoes, and other vegetables, they soon awakened such an interest, that within three weeks, over a thousand bushels of potatoes and onions were forwarded to the army, and by their timely distribution saved it from imminent peril.

In the autumn of 1863, the great Northwestern Sanitary Fair, the first of that series of similar fairs which united the North in a bond of large and wide-spread charity, occurred. It was Mrs. Livermore who suggested and planned the first fair, which netted almost one hundred thousand dollars to the Sanitary Commission. Mrs. Hoge, had at first, no confidence in the project, but she afterward joined it, and giving it her earnest aid, helped to carry it to a successful conclusion. It was indeed a giant plan, and it may be chiefly credited, from its inception to its fortunate close, to these indefatigable and skilful workers. The writer of this sketch was present at the convention of women of the Northwest called to meet at Chicago, and consider the feasibility of the project, and was forcibly impressed with the great and real power, the concentrated moral force, contained in that meeting, and left its doors without one doubt of the complete and ultimate success of the plan discussed. Mrs. Livermore held there a commanding position. A brilliant and earnest speaker, her words seemed to sway the attentive throng. Her commanding person, added to the power of her words. Gathered upon the platform of Bryan Hall, were Mrs. Hoge, Mrs. Colt, of Milwaukee, and many more, perhaps less widely known, but bearing upon their faces and in their attitudes, the impress of cultured minds, and an earnest active resolve to do, which seemed to insure success. Mrs. Livermore, seated below the platform, from time to time passed among the crowd, and her suggestions whether quietly made to individuals, or given in her clear ringing voice, and well selected language to the convention, were everywhere received with respect and deference. As all know, this fair which was about three months in course of preparation, was on a mammoth scale, and was a great success, and this result was no doubt greatly owing to the presence of that quality, which like every born leader, Mrs. Livermore evidently possesses--that of knowing how to select judiciously, the subordinates and instruments to be employed to carry out the plans which have originated in her mind.

When this fair had been brought to a successful close, Mrs. Livermore returned to the particular work of her agency. When not traveling on the business connected with it, she spent many busy days at the rooms of the Commission in Chicago. The history of some of those days she has written--a history full of pathos and illuminated with scores of examples of noble and worthy deeds--of the sacrifices of hard-worked busy women for the soldiers--of tender self-sacrificing wives concealing poverty and sorrow, and swallowing bitter tears, and whispering no word of sorrows hard to bear, that the husband, far away fighting for his country, might never know of their sufferings; of the small but fervently offered alms of little children, of the anguish of parents waiting the arrival through this channel of tidings of their wounded or their dead; of heroic nurses going forth to their sad labors in the hospitals, with their lives in their hands, or returning in their coffins, or with broken health, the sole reward, beside the soldiers' thanks, for all their devotion.

Journey after journey Mrs. Livermore made, during the next two years, in pursuance of her mission, till her name and person were familiar not only in the camps and hospitals of the great West, but in the assemblies of patriotic women in the Eastern and Middle States. And all the time the tireless pen paused not in its blessed work.

In the spring of 1865, another fair was in contemplation. As before, Mrs. Livermore visited the Eastern cities, for the purpose of obtaining aid in her project, and as before was most successful.

In pursuance of this object, she made a flying visit to Washington, her chief purpose being to induce the President to attend the fair, and add the eclat of his presence and that of Mrs. Lincoln, to the brilliant occasion. An account of her interview with him whom she was never again to see in life, which, with her impressions of his character, we gain from her correspondence with the New Covenant, is appended.

"Our first effort was to obtain an interview with the President and Mrs. Lincoln--and this, by the way, is usually the first effort of all new comers. We were deputized to invite our Chief Magistrate to attend the great Northwestern Fair, to be held in May--and this was our errand. With the escort of a Senator, who takes precedence of all other visitors, it is very easy to obtain an interview with the President, and as we were favored in this respect, we were ushered into the audience chamber without much delay. The President received us kindly, as he does all who approach him. He was already apprised of the fair, and spoke of it with much interest, and with a desire to attend it. He gave us a most laughable account of his visit to the Philadelphia Fair, when, as he expressed it, 'for two miles it was all people, where it wasn't houses,' and where 'he actually feared he should be pulled from the carriage windows.' We notified him that he must be prepared for a still greater crowd in Chicago, as the whole Northwest would come out to shake hands with him, and told him that a petition for his attendance at the fair, was in circulation, that would be signed by ten thousand women of Chicago. 'But,' said he, 'what do you suppose my wife will say, at ten thousand ladies coming after me in that style?' We assured him that the invitation included Mrs. Lincoln also, when he laughed heartily, and promised attendance, if State duties did not absolutely forbid. 'It would be wearisome,' he said, 'but it would gratify the people of the Northwest, and so he would try to come--and he thought by that time, circumstances would permit his undertaking a short tour West.' This was all that we could ask, or expect.

"We remained for some time, watching the crowds that surged through the spacious apartments, and the President's reception of them. Where they entered the room indifferently, and gazed at him as if he were a part of the furniture, or gave him simply a mechanical nod of the head, he allowed them to pass on, as they elected. But where he was met by a warm grasp of the hand, a look of genuine friendliness, of grateful recognition or of tearful tenderness, the President's look and manner answered the expression entirely. To the lowly and the humble he was especially kind; his worn face took on a look of exquisite tenderness, as he shook hands with soldiers who carried an empty coat sleeve, or swung themselves on crutches; and not a child was allowed to pass him by without a kind word from him. A bright boy, about the size and age of the son he had buried, was going directly by, without appearing even to see the President. 'Stop, my little man,' said Mr. Lincoln, laying his hand on his shoulder, 'aren't you going to speak to me?' And stooping down, he took the child's hands in his own, and looked lovingly in his face, chatting with him for some moments."

The plans of Mrs. Livermore in regard to the fair were carried out--with one sad exception. It was a much greater success pecuniarily than the first. And the war was over, and it was the last time that wounded soldiers would call for aid. But alas! the great and good man whose presence she had coveted lay cold in death! She had promised him "days of rest" when he should come, and long ere then, he had entered his eternal rest, and all that remained of him had been carried through those streets, decked in mourning.

Like her friend, Mrs. Hoge, Mrs. Livermore was cheered during her labors by testimonials of appreciation from her co-laborers, and of gratitude from the brave men for whom she toiled. An exquisite silver vase was sent her by the Women's Relief Association, of Brooklyn, the counterpart of that sent Mrs. Hoge at the same time. From her co-workers in the last Sanitary Fair, she also received a gold-lined silver goblet, and a verd-antique Roman bell--the former bearing this complimentary inscription, "_Poculum qui meruit fuit_." But the gifts most prized by her are the comparatively inexpensive testimonials made by the soldiers to whom she ministered. At one time she rejoiced in the possession of fourteen photograph albums, in every style of binding, each one emblazoned with a frontispiece of the maimed or emaciated soldier who gave it.

GENERAL AID SOCIETY FOR THE ARMY, BUFFALO.

This Society, a Branch of the Sanitary Commission, was organized in the summer of 1862, and became one of the Branches of the Commission in the autumn of 1862, had eventually for its field of operations, the Western Counties of New York, a few counties in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and received also occasional supplies from one or two of the border counties in Ohio, and from individuals in Canada West.

Its first President was Mrs. Joseph E. Follett, a lady of great tact and executive ability, who in 1862, resigned, in consequence of the removal of her husband to Minnesota. Mrs. Horatio Seymour, the wife of a prominent business man of Buffalo, was chosen to succeed Mrs. Follett, and developed in the performance of her duties, abilities as a manager, of the highest order. Through her efforts, ably seconded as they were by Miss Babcock and Miss Bird, the Secretaries of the Society, the whole field was thoroughly organized, and brought up to its highest condition of efficiency, and kept there through the whole period of the war.

A friendly rivalry was maintained between this branch and the Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio, and the perfect system and order with which both were conducted, the eloquent appeals and the stirring addresses by which both kept their auxiliaries up to their work, and the grand and noble results accomplished by each, are worthy of all praise. In this, as in the Cleveland Society, the only paid officer was the porter. All the rest served, the President and Secretaries daily, the cutters, packers, and others, on alternate days, or at times semi-weekly, without fee or compensation. Arduous as their duties were, and far as they were from any romantic idea of heroism, or of notable personal service to the cause, these noble, patient, and really heroic women, rejoiced in the thought that by their labors they were indirectly accomplishing a good work in furnishing the means of comfort and healing to thousands of the soldiers, who, but for their labors would have perished from sickness or wounds, but through their care and the supplies they provided, were restored again to the ranks, and enabled to render excellent service in putting down the Rebellion.

In her closing report, Mrs. Seymour says:

"We have sent nearly three thousand packages to Louisville, and six hundred and twenty-five to New York. We have cut and provided materials at our rooms, for over twenty thousand suits, and other articles for the army, amounting in all to more than two hundred thousand pieces. Little children, mostly girls under twelve years of age, have given us over twenty-five hundred dollars."

Like all the earnest workers of this class, Mrs. Seymour expresses the highest admiration for what was done by those nameless heroines, "the patriot workers in quiet country homes, who with self-sacrifice rarely equalled, gave their best spare-room linen and blankets, their choicest dried fruits, wines and pickles,--and in all seasons met to sew for the soldiers, or went about from house to house to collect the supplies to fill the box which came regularly once a month." Almost every woman who toiled thus, had a family whose sole care depended upon her, and many of them had dairies or other farm-work to occupy their attention, yet they rarely or never failed to have the monthly box filled and forwarded promptly. We agree with Mrs. Seymour in our estimate of the nobleness and self-sacrificing spirit manifested by these women; but the patriotic and self-denying heroines of the war were not in country villages, rural hamlets, and isolated farms alone; those ladies who for their love to the national cause, left their homes daily and toiled steadily and patiently through the long years of the war, in summer's heat and winter's cold, voluntarily secluding themselves from the society and social position they were so well fitted to adorn, and in which they had been the bright particular stars, these too, for the great love they bore to their country should receive its honors and its heartfelt thanks.

MICHIGAN SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY

Few of the States of the Northwest, patriotic as they all were, present as noble a record as Michigan. Isolated by its position from any immediate peril from the rebel forces, (unless we reckon their threatened raids from Canada, in the last year of the War), its loyal and Union-loving citizens volunteered with a promptness, and fought with a courage surpassed by no troops in the Armies of the Republic. They were sustained in their patriotic sacrifices by an admirable home influence. The successive Governors of the State, during the war, its Senators and Representatives in Congress, and its prominent citizens at home, all contributed their full share toward keeping up the fervor of the brave soldiers in the field. Nor were the women of the State inferior to the other sex in zeal and self-sacrifice. The services of Mrs. Annie Etheridge, and of Bridget Divers, as nurses in the field-hospitals, and under fire are elsewhere recorded in this volume. Others were equally faithful and zealous, who will permit no account of their labors of love to be given to the public. There were from an early period of the war two organizations in the State, which together with the Northwestern Sanitary Commission, received and forwarded the supplies contributed throughout the State for the soldiers to the great depots of distribution at Louisville, St. Louis, and New York. These were "The Soldiers' Relief Committee," and the Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit. There were also State agencies at Washington and New York, well managed, and which rendered early in the war great services to the Michigan troops. The Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit, though acting informally previously, was formally organized in November, 1862, with Mrs. John Palmer, as President, and Miss Valeria Campbell, as Corresponding Secretary. In the summer of 1863, the Society changed its name to "The Michigan Soldiers' Aid Society," and the Soldiers' Relief Committee, having been merged in it, became the Michigan Branch of the Sanitary Commission, and addressed itself earnestly to the work of collecting and increasing the supplies gathered in all parts of the State, and sending them to the depots of the Commission at Louisville and New York, or directly to the front when necessary. At the time of this change, Hon. John Owen, one of the Associate members of the Sanitary Commission, was chosen President, B. Vernor, Esq., Hon. James V. Campbell, and P. E. Demill, Esq., also Associates of the Commission, Miss S. A. Sibley, Mrs. H. L. Chipman, and Mrs. N. Adams, were elected Vice Presidents, and Miss Valeria Campbell, continued in the position of Recording Secretary, while the venerable Dr. Zina Pitcher, one of the constituent members of the Sanitary Commission was their counsellor and adviser.

Of this organization, Miss Campbell was the soul. Untiring in her efforts, systematic and methodical in her work, a writer of great power and eloquence, and as patriotic and devoted as any of those who served in the hospitals, or among the wounded men on the battle-field, she accomplished an amount of labor which few could have undertaken with success. The correspondence with all the auxiliaries, the formation of new Societies, and Alert clubs in the towns and villages of the State, the constant preparation and distribution of circulars and bulletins to stimulate the small societies to steady and persistent effort, the correspondence with the Western Office at Louisville, and the sending thither invoices of the goods shipped, and of the monthly accounts of the branch, these together, formed an amount of work which would have appalled any but the most energetic and systematic of women. In her labors, Miss Campbell received great and valuable assistance from Mrs. N. Adams, one of the Vice Presidents, Mrs. Brent, Mrs. Sabine, Mrs. Luther B. Willard, and Mrs. C. E. Russell. The two last named ladies, not satisfied with working for the soldiers at home, went to the army and distributed their supplies in person, and won the regard of the soldiers by their faithfulness and zeal.

In the year ending November 1st, 1864, one thousand two hundred and thirty-five boxes, barrels, etc., were sent from this branch to the Army, besides a large amount supplied to the Military Hospitals in Detroit, nearly six thousand dollars in money was raised, besides nearly two thousand dollars toward a Soldiers' Home, which was established during the year, and furnished forty-two thousand seven hundred and eighty-five meals, and fourteen thousand three hundred and ninety-nine lodgings to five thousand five hundred and ninety-nine soldiers from eight different States. In the organization of this Home, as well as in providing for the families of the soldiers, Miss Campbell was, as usual, the leading spirit. In both the Fairs held at Chicago, September, 1863, and June, 1865, the Michigan Branch of the Sanitary Commission, rendered essential service. Their receipts from the second Fair, were thirteen thousand three hundred and eighty-four dollars and fifty-eight cents less three thousand one hundred and thirty-seven dollars and sixty-five cents expenses, and this balance was expended in the maintenance of the Soldiers' Home, and caring for such of the sick and disabled men as were not provided for in the Hospitals. Of the aggregate amount contributed by this branch to the relief of the soldiers in money and supplies, we cannot as yet obtain a detailed estimate. We only know that it exceeded three hundred thousand dollars.

WOMEN'S PENNSYLVANIA BRANCH OF U. S. SANITARY COMMISSION.

Philadelphia was distinguished throughout the war by the intense and earnest loyalty and patriotism of its citizens, and especially of its women. No other city furnished so many faithful workers in the hospitals, the Refreshment Saloons, the Soldiers' Homes and Reading-rooms, and no other was half so well represented in the field, camp, and general hospitals at the "front." Sick and wounded soldiers began to arrive in Philadelphia very early in the war, and hospital after hospital was opened for their reception until in 1863-4, there were in the city and county twenty-six military hospitals, many of them of great extent. To all of these, the women of Philadelphia ministered most generously and devotedly, so arranging their labors that to each hospital there was a committee, some of whose members visited its wards daily, and prepared and distributed the special diet and such delicacies as the surgeons allowed. But as the war progressed, these patriotic women felt that they ought to do more for the soldiers, than simply to minister to those of them who were in the hospitals of the city. They were sending to the active agents in the field, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Husband, Mrs. Lee, and others large quantities of stores; the "Ladies' Aid Association," organized in April, 1861, enlisted the energies of one class, the Penn Relief Association, quietly established by the Friends, had not long after, furnished an outlet for the overflowing sympathies and kindness of the followers of George Fox and William Penn; and "the Soldiers' Aid Association," whose president, Mrs. Mary A. Brady, represented it so ably in the field, until her incessant labors and hardships brought on disease of the heart, and in May, 1864, ended her active and useful life, had rallied around it a corps of noble and faithful workers. But there were yet hundreds, aye, thousands, who felt that they must do more than they were doing for the soldiers. The organizations we have named, though having a considerable number of auxiliaries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, did not by any means cover the whole ground, and none of them were acting to any considerable extent through the Sanitary Commission which had been rapidly approving itself as the most efficient and satisfactory agency for the distribution of supplies to the army. In the winter of 1862-3 those friends of the soldier, not as yet actively connected with either of the three associations we have named, assembled at the Academy of Music, and after an address from Rev. Dr. Bellows, organized themselves as the Women's Pennsylvania Branch of the Sanitary Commission, and with great unanimity elected Mrs. Maria C. Grier as their President, and Mrs. Clara J. Moore, Corresponding Secretary. Wiser or more appropriate selections could not have been made. They were unquestionably, "the right women in the right place." Our readers will pardon us for sketching briefly the previous experiences and labors of these two ladies who proved so wonderfully efficient in this new sphere of action.

Mrs. Maria C. Grier is a daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Cornelius C. Cuyler, a clergyman, formerly pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in Poughkeepsie, and afterward of the Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, and married Rev. M. B. Grier, D.D., now editor of the "Presbyterian," one of the leading papers of the Old School Presbyterian Church. Dr. Grier had been for some years before the commencement of the war pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. Wilmington, at the outbreak of the war, shared with Charleston and Mobile the bad reputation of being the most intensely disloyal of all the towns of the South. Dr. and Mrs. Grier were openly and decidedly loyal, known everywhere throughout that region as among the very few who had the moral courage to avow their attachment to the Union. They knew very well, that their bold avowals might cost them their lives, but they determined for the sake of those who loved the Union, but had not their courage, to remain and advocate the cause, until it should become impossible to do so longer, bearing in mind that if they escaped, their departure, to be safe, must be sudden.

Early in the morning of the 1st of June word was brought them that there was no time to lose. Dr. Grier's life was threatened. A vessel was ready to sail and they must go. Hurriedly they left a home endeared to them by long years of residence; Dr. Grier's valuable library, a choice collection of paintings and other treasures of art and affection were all abandoned to the ruthless mob, and were stolen or destroyed. Leaving their breakfast untouched upon the table, they hastened to the vessel, and by a circuitous route, at last reached Philadelphia in safety, and were welcomed by kind and sympathizing friends. Mrs. Grier's patriotism was of the active kind, and she was very soon employed among the sick and wounded soldiers who reached Philadelphia after Bull Run and Ball's Bluff, or who were left by the regiments hurrying to the front at the hospitals of the Volunteer and Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloons. With the establishment of the larger hospitals in January, 1862, Mrs. Grier commenced her labors in them also, and remained busy in this work till June, 1862, when at the request of the surgeon in charge of one of the Hospital Transports, she went to White House, Virginia, was there when McClellan made his "change of base," and when the wounded were sent on board the transport cared for them and came on to Philadelphia with them, and resumed her work at once in the hospitals. The battles of Pope's campaign and those of South Mountain and Antietam, filled the land with desolate homes, and crowded not only the hospitals, but the churches of Philadelphia with suffering, wounded and dying men, and Mrs. Grier like most of the philanthropic ladies of Philadelphia found abundant employment for heart and hands. Her zeal and faithfulness in this work had so favorably impressed the ladies who met at the Academy of Music to organize the Women's Branch of the Commission that she was unanimously chosen its President.

Mrs. Clara J. Moore, formerly a Miss Jessup, of Boston, is the wife of Mr. Bloomfield H. Moore, a large manufacturer of Philadelphia. She is a woman of high culture, a poetess of rare sweetness, and eminent as a magazine writer. She possessed great energy, and a rare facility of correspondence. In her days of Hospital work, she wrote hundreds of letters for the soldiers, and in the organization of the Women's Branch, of which she was one of the most active promoters, she took upon herself the burden of such a correspondence with the Auxiliaries, and the persons whom she desired to interest in the establishment of local Aid Societies, that when she was compelled by ill health to resign her position, a Committee of nine young ladies was appointed to conduct the correspondence in her place, and all the nine found ample employment. Her daughter married a Swedish Count, and returned with him to Europe, and the mother soon after sought rest and recovery in her daughter's Scandinavian home.

Of the other ladies connected with this Pennsylvania Branch, all were active, but the following, perhaps in part from temperament, and in part from being able to devote their time more fully than others to the work, were peculiarly efficient and faithful. Mrs. W. H. Furness, Mrs. Lathrop, Mrs. C. J. Stille, Mrs. J. Tevis, Mrs. E. D. Gillespie, Mrs. A. D. Jessup, Mrs. Samuel H. Clapp, Mrs. J. Warner Johnson, Mrs. Samuel Field, Mrs. Aubrey H. Smith, Mrs. M. L. Frederick, Mrs. C. Graff, Mrs. Joseph Parrish, Miss M. M. Duane, Miss S. B. Dunlap, Miss Rachel W. Morris, Miss H. and Miss Anna Blanchard, Miss E. P. Hawley, and Miss M. J. Moss.

Of Mrs. Grier's labors in this position, one of the Associates of the Sanitary Commission, a gentleman who had more opportunity than most others of knowing her faithful and persistent work, writes:

"When the Women's Branch was organized, Mrs. Grier reluctantly consented to take the head of the Supply Department. In this position she continued, working most devotedly, until the work was done. To her labors the success of this undertaking is largely due. To every quality which makes woman admired and loved, this lady added many which peculiarly qualified her for this post; a rare judgment, a wonderful power of organization, and a rare facility for drawing around her the most efficient helpers, and making their labors most useful. During the whole period of the existence of the Association, the greatest good feeling reigned, and if ever differences of opinion threatened to interrupt perfect harmony, a word from Mrs. Grier was sufficient. Her energy in carrying out new plans for the increase of the supplies was most remarkable. When the Women's Pennsylvania Branch disbanded, every person conected with it, regretted most of all the separation from Mrs. Grier. I have never heard but one opinion expressed of her as President of the Association."

A lady, who, from her own labors in the field, and in the promotion of the benevolent plans of the Sanitary Commission, was brought into close and continued intercourse with her, says of her:

"She gave to the work of the Sanitary Commission, all the energies of her mind,--never faltering, or for a moment deterred by the many unforeseen annoyances and trials incident to the position. The great Sanitary Fair added to the cares by which she was surrounded; but that was carried through so successfully and triumphantly, that all else was forgotten in the joy of knowing how largely the means of usefulness was now increased. Her labors ceased not until the war was ended, and the Sanitary Commission was no longer required. Those only who have known her in the work, can form an idea of the vast amount of labor it involved.

"With an extract from the final report of the Women's Pennsylvania Branch, made in the spring of 1866, which shows the character and extent of the work accomplished, we close our account of this very efficient organization.

"On the 26th of March, 1863, the supply department of the Philadelphia agency was transferred to the Executive Committee of the Women's Pennsylvania Branch. A large and commodious building, Number 1307 Chestnut Street, was rented, and the new organization commenced its work. How rapidly the work grew, and how greatly its results exceeded our anticipations are now matters of pleasant memory with us all. The number of contributing Aid Societies was largely increased in a few weeks, and this was accompanied by a corresponding augmentation of the supplies received. The summer came, and with it sanguinary Gettysburg, with its heaps of slain and wounded, giving the most powerful impulse to every loving, patriotic heart. Supplies flowed in largely, and from every quarter; and we found that our work was destined to be no mere holiday pastime, no matter of sudden impulse, but that it would require all the thought, all the time, all the energy we could possibly bring to bear upon it. We had indeed put on the armor, to take it off only when soldiers were no more needed on our country's battle-fields, because the flag of the Union was waving again from every one of her cities and fortresses. Then came the bloody battles and glorious victories, with their depressing and their exhilarating effects. But, through the clouds and through the sunshine alike, our armies marched on, fought on, steadily and persistently advancing towards their final triumph. And so in the cities, in the villages, in the quiet country homes, in the luxurious parlor, in the rustic kitchen, everywhere, always, the women of the country too pursued their patriotic, loving work, content if the toil of their busy fingers might carry comfort to even a few of our bleeding, heroic soldiers. And as they labored in their various spheres, the results of their work poured into the great centres where supplies were collected for the Sanitary Commission. Our Department came to number over three hundred and fifty contributing Societies, besides a large number of individuals contributing with almost the regularity of our auxiliaries. Associate Managers, whose business it was to supervise the work in their own neighborhoods, had been appointed in nearly every county of the entire Department, fifty-six Associate Managers in all. The time came when the work of corresponding with these was too vast to be attended to by only one Corresponding Secretary. The lady who had filled that office with great ability, and to whose energetic zeal our organization owed its first impulse, was compelled by ill health to resign. Her place was filled by a Committee of nine, among whom the duty of correspondence was systematically divided. The work of our Associate Managers deserves more than the passing tribute which this report can give. They were nearly all of them women whose home duties gave them little leisure, and yet the existence of most of our Aid Societies is due to their efforts. In one of the least wealthy and populous counties of Pennsylvania, one faithful, earnest woman succeeded in establishing thirty Aid Societies. When the Great Central Fair was projected their services were found most valuable in the counties under their several superintendence, and they deserve a share of the credit for the magnificent success of that splendid undertaking.

"The total cash value of supplies received is three hundred and six thousand and eighty-eight dollars and one cent. Of this amount, twenty-six thousand three hundred and fifty-nine dollars were contributed to the Philadelphia Agency before the formation of the Women's Branch. The whole number of boxes, barrels, etc., received since the 1st of April, 1863, is fifty-three hundred and twenty-nine. Of these packages, twenty-one hundred and three were received, from April 1st, 1863, until the close of the year; twenty-one hundred and ninety-nine were received in 1864; and one thousand and twenty-seven have been received since January 1st, 1865. During the present year, three hundred and ninety-six boxes have been shipped to various points where they were needed for the Army, and sixteen hundred and ninety-nine were sent to the central office at Washington City. The last item includes the transfer of stock upon closing the depot of this Agency. The total number of boxes shipped from the Women's Pennsylvania Branch, since April 1st, 1863, is two thousand and ninety-five. This means, of course, the articles contributed by Societies, and does not include those purchased by the Commission, excepting the garments made by the Special Relief Committee.

"At length our work is done. Our army is disbanding, and we too must follow their lead. No more need of our daily Committee and their pleasant aids, to unpack and assort supplies for our sick and wounded. God has given us peace at last. Shall we ever sufficiently thank him for this crowning happiness? Rather shall we not thank him, by refusing ever again to be idle spectators when he has work to be done for any form of suffering humanity? And if our country shall, after its baptism of blood and of fire, be found to possess a race of better, nobler American women, with quickened impulses, high thoughts, and capable of heroic deeds, shall not the praise be chiefly due to the better, nobler aims set before them by the United States Sanitary Commission?

"The following is a list of the expenses of the Supply Department, from the time of its organization to January 1st, 1866. These charges were incurred upon goods purchased in this city, as well as upon those contributed to the Women's Pennsylvania Branch. Their total value is five hundred and ninety-six thousand four hundred and sixty-eight dollars and ninety-seven cents."

Rent of Depository $2,876 66 Wm. Platt, Jr., Superintendent, for expenses incurred by him on supplies contributed 2,159 73 Salary of Storekeeper and Porter 3,093 50 Freight, express charges, cartage 7,115 22 Boxes and material for packing 261 78 Labor, extra 352 96 Printing and Stationery 928 49 Advertising 2,310 59 Fuel and Lights 344 03 Fitting up Depository, including repairs 619 13 Insurance on Stock 244 00 Postages 940 66 Miscellaneous 668 11 --------- Total $21,914 86 ---------

RELIEF COMMITTEE.--This Committee was organized in April, 1863, and had for its object, during the first months of its existence, the relief of the wants of soldiers; but finding a Committee of women unequal to the proper performance of this duty, and at the same time having had brought before them the great necessities of the families of our volunteers, they resigned to other hands the care of the soldiers, and determined to devote themselves to the mothers, wives, and children, of those who had gone forth to battle for the welfare of all.

The rooms in which this work has been carried on, are at the South-east corner of Thirteenth and Chestnut streets.

Two Committees have been in attendance daily to receive applications for relief, work, fuel, etc. Persons thus applying for aid are required to furnish proof that their sons or husbands were actually soldiers, and are also obliged to bring from some responsible party a certificate of their own honesty and sobriety. It then becomes the duty of the Committee in charge to visit the applicant, and to afford such aid as may be needed.

The means for supplying this aid have been furnished principally through generous monthly subscriptions from a few citizens, through the hands of Mr. A. D. Jessup. Donations and subscriptions, through the ladies of the Committee, have also been received, and from time to time, acknowledged in the printed reports of the Committee.

It has been the aim of the Committee to provide employment for the women, for which adequate compensation has been given. The Sanitary Commission furnished material, which the Relief Committee had cut and converted into articles required for the use of the soldiers by the Sanitary Commission. Thirty-seven thousand nine hundred and fifteen articles have been made and returned to the Commission, free of charge. Finding the supply of work from this source inadequate to the demands for it, the Committee decided to obtain work from Government contractors, and to pay the women double the price paid by the contractors. Twenty thousand one hundred and seventy-four articles were made in this way, and returned to the contractors who were kind enough to furnish the work. Eleven hundred and twenty-nine articles have been made for the freedmen, and five hundred and five for other charities; making in all, fifty-nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-three articles.

Eight hundred and thirty women have been employed in the two years during which the labors of the Committee have been carried on; and it is due to the women thus employed to state, that of the number of garments made, but two have been missing through dishonesty.

The sources from which work has hitherto been obtained having failed, through the blessed return of peace, and the destitution being great among those near and dear to the men whose lives have been given to purchase that peace, the Committee have determined not to cease their labors during the present winter.

Two hundred women, principally widows, are now employed in making garments from materials furnished by the Committee. These garments are distributed to the most needy among the applicants for relief.

More than four hundred tons of coal have been given out to the needy families of soldiers during the past two years, the coal being the gift of a few coal merchants.

The receipts of the Committee have been as follows:

From Subscriptions and donations $28,300 00 From Entertainment given for the benefit of the Committee 1,444 00 From Contractors in payment for work done 1,681 31 From the Sanitary Commission 2,551 50 ---------- Total $33,976 81 ----------

This amount has all been expended, with the exception of two hundred and forty-eight dollars and forty-seven cents, which balance remained in the hands of the Treasurer on the 31st of December, 1865.

WISCONSIN SOLDIER'S AID SOCIETY.

Early in the summer of 1861, Mrs. Margaret A. Jackson, widow of the late Rev. William Jackson, of Louisville, Kentucky, in connection with Mrs. Louisa M. Delafield and others, engaged in awakening an interest among the ladies of Milwaukee, in regard to the sanitary wants of the soldiers, which soon resulted in the formation of a "Milwaukee Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society," composed of many of the benevolent ladies of this city. The society was very zealous in soliciting aid for the soldiers, and in making garments for their use in the service.

Very soon other Aid Societies in various parts of the State desired to become auxiliaries to this organization, and soon after the battle of Bull Run it became evident that their efficiency could be greatly promoted by the Milwaukee Society becoming a branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, and that relation was effected. The name of the society was at this time changed to "Wisconsin Soldiers' Aid Society." Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Delafield continued to be efficient as leaders in all the work of this society, but in its reorganization, Mrs. Henrietta L. Colt was chosen Corresponding Secretary, and commenced her work with great zeal and energy. She visited the Wisconsin soldiers in various localities at the front, and thus brought the wants of the brave men to the particular knowledge of the society, and in this way largely promoted the interest, zeal and efficiency of the ladies connected with it. She described the sufferings, fortitude and heroism of the soldiers with such simple pathos, that thousands of hearts were melted, and contributions poured into the treasury of the society in great abundance.

The number of auxiliaries in the State was two hundred and twenty-nine. The central organization at Milwaukee, beside forwarding supplies, had one bureau to assist soldiers' families in getting payments from the State, one to secure employment for soldiers' wives and mothers through contracts with the Government, under the charge of Mrs. Jackson, one to secure employment for the partially disabled soldiers, and one to provide for widows and orphans. The channels of benevolence through the State were various; the people generally sought the most direct route to the soldiers in the field; but the gifts to the army sent by the Wisconsin Soldiers' Aid Society (their report says without any "Fair"), alone amounted--the packages, to nearly six thousand in number, the value to nearly two hundred thousand dollars.

The Wisconsin Aid Society and its officers also rendered large and valuable aid to the two Sanitary Fairs held in Chicago in September, 1863, and June, 1865.

The Wisconsin Soldiers' Home, at Milwaukee, connected with the Wisconsin Aid Society, was an institution of great importance during the war. Its necessity has not passed away, and will not for many years. The ladies who originated and sustained it were indefatigable in their labors, and the benevolent public gave them their heartiest sanction. It gave thousands of soldiers a place of entertainment as they passed through the city to and from the army, and thus promoted their comfort and good morals. The sick and wounded were there tenderly nursed; the dying stranger there had friends.

During the year ending April 15, 1865, four thousand eight hundred and forty-two soldiers there received free entertainment, and the total number of meals served in the year was seventeen thousand four hundred and fifty-six, an average of forty-eight daily. These soldiers represented twenty different States, two thousand and ninety belonging in Wisconsin. A fair in 1865 realized upwards of one hundred thousand dollars, which is to be expended on a permanent Soldiers' Home, one of the three National Soldiers' Homes having been located at Milwaukee, and the Wisconsin Soldiers' Home being the nucleus of it.

Mrs. Colt was so efficient a worker for the soldiers, that a brief sketch of her labors, prepared by a personal friend, will be appropriate in this connection.

MRS. HENRIETTA L. COLT, was born March 16th, 1812, in Rensselaerville, Albany County, New York. Her maiden name was Peckham. She was educated in a seminary at Albany, and was married in 1830, to Joseph S. Colt, Esq., a man well known throughout the State, as an accomplished Christian gentleman. Mr. Colt was a member of the Albany bar, and practiced his profession there until 1853, when he removed to Milwaukee. After three years' residence there he returned to New York, where he died, leaving an honored name and a precious memory among men.

The death of Mr. Colt brought to his widow a sad experience. In a letter to the writer, she expresses the deep sense of her loss, and the effect it had in preparing her for that devotion to the cause of her country, which, during the late rebellion, has led her to leave the comforts and refinements of her home to minister to the soldiers of the Union, in hospitals, to labor in the work of the Wisconsin Soldiers' Aid Society, to go on hospital steamers as far as Vicksburg to care for the sick and wounded, as they were brought up the river, where they could be better provided for, to visit the camps and regimental hospitals around the beleaguered city, and to return with renewed devotion to the work of sending sanitary supplies to the sick and wounded of the Union army, until the close of the war. After portraying the character of her lamented husband, his chivalric tenderness, his thoughtful affection, his nobility of soul, his high sense of justice, which had made him a representative of the best type of humanity, she goes on to say: "The sun seemed to me to go out in darkness when he went to the skies. Shielding me from every want, from all care, causing me to breathe a continual atmosphere of refinement, and love, and happiness, when he went, life lost its beauty and its charm. In this state of things it was to me as a divine gift--a real godsend--to have a chance for earnest absorbing work. The very first opportunity was seized to throw myself into the work for my country, which had called its stalwart sons to arms to defend its integrity, its liberty, its very existence, from the most gigantic and wicked rebellion known in history."

It is among the grateful memories of the writer of this sketch, that during the winter of 1863, while stationed at Helena, he went on board a steamer passing towards Vicksburg, and met there Mrs. Colt, in company with Mrs. Livermore, and Mrs. Hoge, of Chicago, on their way to carry sanitary stores, and minister to the sick and wounded, then being brought up the river from the first fatal attack on Vicksburg, in which our army was repulsed, and from the battle of Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas river, in which we were successful, and from an expedition up the White river, under General Gorman. He was greatly impressed with her intelligence, her purity of character, the beautiful blending of her religious and patriotic tendencies, the gentleness and tenderness with which she ministered encouragement and sympathy to the sick soldier, and the spirit of humanity and womanly dignity that marked her manners and conversation. The same qualities were characteristic of her companions from Chicago, in varied combination, each having her own individuality, and it was beautiful to see with what judgment and discretion, and union of purpose they went on their mission of love.