Relief and Sanitary Work

0001670_dref.jpg

The Sanitary Commission Bulletin
v. 1, no. 2 (November 15, 1863)
(New York : The Commission, 1863-1865).
From the collections of the Boston Medical Library.

Issued twice monthly from November, 1863, to August, 1865, the Bulletin reported on the work of the Commission and the local sanitary fairs, accounts of battles and the experiences of prisoners of war, and provided a regular means to report on the use of funds contributed by the public.  This issue outlines some of the Commission’s activities and personnel.

0001671_dref.jpg

The Sanitary Commission Bulletin
v. 1, no. 22 (September 15, 1864)
(New York : The Commission, 1863-1865).
From the collections of the Boston Medical Library.

This issue includes patterns and instructions for making hospital slings and slippers.

0001640_dref.jpg

Georgeanna Muirson Woolsey Bacon (1833-1906)
Three Weeks at Gettysburg
(New York : Anson D.F. Randolph, 1863).
From the collections of the Boston Medical Library.

In July, 1863, Georgeanna Woolsey and a companion travelled from Baltimore to Gettysburg to assist in caring for the soldiers from both armies and help transport the wounded away from the battlefield to hospitals.  This pamphlet recounting her experiences presents a vivid picture of the relief work provided by the United States Sanitary Commission.  The pamphlet was originally published privately and then reprinted “for a more general circulation among the friends and contributors to the Sanitary Commission, in the belief that it cannot fail to stimulate and encourage them in their work.”

0001536_ref.jpg

Photograph of Robert Ware, October 1863.
From the collections of the Boston Medical Library.

An 1856 graduate of Harvard Medical School and son of faculty member, John Ware (1795-1864), Robert Ware was an inspector with the United States Sanitary Commission and later a surgeon with the 44th Massachusetts Volunteers.  

0001551_dref.jpg

Robert Ware (1833-1863)
Autograph Letter Signed : Whitehouse Landing, Va.,
to Fanny [Ware], May 30 –June 8, 1862.
Gifts of Mrs. Robert Montraville Green to the Library of Harvard Medical School, 1968.

Nearly fifty letters from Robert Ware to his family, from 1861 to 1863, have survived and present a rich and detailed picture of his work with the Sanitary Commission and experiences during the Civil War.  The letter displayed here, addressed to his sister, Fanny, recounts Ware’s work with the wounded following a battle outside Richmond.

0001663_dref.jpg

Scrapbook on the Death of Robert Ware, 1863.
Gifts of Mrs. Robert Montraville Green to the Library of Harvard Medical School, 1968.

Robert Ware died of pneumonia at Washington, North Carolina, on April 10, 1863.

Relief and Sanitary Work