Woman's Work in the Civil War Part 40

MRS. JOHN S. PHELPS.

At the commencement of the War, Mrs. Phelps was residing in her pleasant home at Springfield, Missouri, her husband and herself, were both originally from New England, but years of residence in the Southwest, had caused them to feel a strong attachment for the region and its inst.i.tutions. They were both, however, intensely loyal. Mr. Phelps was a member of Congress, elected as a Union man, and when it became evident that the South would resort to war, he offered his services to the General Government, raised a regiment and went into the field under the heroic Lyon. After the battle of Wilson's Creek, Mrs. Phelps succeeded in rescuing the body of General Lyon, and had it buried where it was within her control, and as soon as possible forwarded it to his friends in Connecticut. Her home was plundered subsequently by the Rebels, and nearly ruined. At the battle of Pea Ridge, Mrs. Phelps accompanied her husband to the field, and while the battle was yet raging, she a.s.sisted in the care of the wounded, tore up her own garments for bandages, dressed their wounds, cooked food, and made soup and broth for them, with her own hands, remaining with them as long as there was anything she could do, and giving not only words but deeds of substantial kindness and sympathy.

Col. Phelps was subsequently made Military Governor of Arkansas, and in the many b.l.o.o.d.y battles in that State, she was ready to help in every way in her power; and in her visits to the East, she plead the cause of the suffering loyalists of Missouri and Arkansas, among her friends with great earnestness and success.

MRS. JANE R. MUNSELL.

Maryland, though strongly claimed by the Rebels as their territory almost throughout the War, had yet, many loyal men and women in its country villages as well as in its larger cities. The legend of Barbara Freitchie's defiance of Stonewall Jackson and his hosts, has been immortalized in Whittier's charming verse, and the equally brave defiance of the Rebels by Mrs. Effie t.i.tlow, of Middletown, Maryland, who wound the flag about her, and stood in the balcony of her own house, looking calmly at the invading troops, who were filled with wrath at her fearlessness deserves a like immortality. Mrs. t.i.tlow proved after the subsequent battle of Gettysburg, that she possessed the disposition to labor for the wounded faithfully and indefatigably, as well as the gallantry to defy their enemies.

Mrs. Jane R. Munsell, of Sandy Spring, Maryland, was another of these Maryland heroines, but her patriotism manifested itself in her incessant toils for the sick and wounded after Antietam and Gettysburg. For their sake, she gave up all; her home and its enjoyments, her little property, yea, and her own life also, for it was her excessive labor for the wounded soldiers which exhausted her strength and terminated her life. A correspondent of one of the daily papers of New York city, who knew her well, says of her: "A truer, kinder, or more lovely or loving woman never lived than she. Her name is a household word with the troops, and her goodnesses have pa.s.sed into proverbs in the camps and sick-rooms and hospitals. She died a victim to her own kind-heartedness, for she went far beyond her strength in her blessed ministrations."

PART III.

LADIES WHO ORGANIZED AID SOCIETIES, AND SOLICITED, RECEIVED AND FORWARDED SUPPLIES TO THE HOSPITALS, DEVOTING THEIR WHOLE TIME TO THE WORK, ETC., ETC.

WOMAN'S CENTRAL a.s.sOCIATION OF RELIEF.

When President Lincoln issued his proclamation, a quick thrill shot through the heart of every mother in New York. The Seventh Regiment left at once for the defense of Was.h.i.+ngton, and the women met at once in parlors and vestries. Perhaps nothing less than the maternal instinct could have forecast the terrible future so quickly. From the parlors of the Drs. Blackwell, and from Dr. Bellows' vestry, came the first call for a public meeting. On the 29th of April, 1861, between three and four thousand women met at the Cooper Union, David Dudley Field in the chair, and eminent men as speakers.

The object was to concentrate scattered efforts by a large and formal organization. Hence the "Woman's Central a.s.sociation of Relief," the germ of the Sanitary Commission. Dr. Bellows, and Dr. E. Harris, left for Was.h.i.+ngton as delegates to establish those relations with the Government, so necessary for harmony and usefulness. The board of the Woman's Central, after many changes, consisted of,

VALENTINE MOTT, M.D., _President_, HENRY W. BELLOWS, D.D., _Vice President_, GEORGE F. ALLEN, Esq., _Secretary_, HOWARD POTTER, Esq., _Treasurer_.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

H. W. Bellows, D.D., _Chairman_.

Mrs. G. L. Schuyler.[K]

Miss Ellen Collins.

F. L. Olmstead, Esq.

Valentine Mott, M.D.

Mrs. T. d'Oremieulx.

W. H. Draper, M.D.

G. F. Allen, Esq.

REGISTRATION COMMITTEE.

E. Blackwell, M.D., _Chairman_.

Mrs. H. Baylis.

Mrs. V. Botta.

Wm. A. Muhlenburg, D.D.

Mrs. W. P. Griffin, _Secretary_.

Mrs. J. A. Swett.

Mrs. C. Abernethy.

E. Harris, M.D.

FINANCE COMMITTEE.

Howard Potter, Esq.

John D. Wolfe, Esq.

William Hague, D.D.

J. H. Markoe, M.D.

Mrs. Hamilton Fish.

Mrs. C. M. Kirkland.

Mrs. C. W. Field.

Asa D. Smith, D.D.

[Footnote K: This lady's place was filled by her daughter from the beginning.]

While in Was.h.i.+ngton, Dr. Bellows originated the "United States Sanitary Commission," and on the 24th of June, 1864, the Woman's Central voluntarily offered to become subordinate as one of its branches of supply. The following September this offer was accepted in a formal resolution, establis.h.i.+ng also a semi-weekly correspondence between the two boards, by which the wants of the army were made known to the Woman's Central.

Prominent and onerous were the duties of the Registration Committee. Its members met daily, to select from numberless applicants, women fitted to receive special training in our city hospitals for the position of nurses. So much of moral as well as mental excellence was indispensable, that the committee found its labors incessant. Then followed the supervision while in hospital, and while awaiting a summons, then the outfit and forwarding, often suddenly and in bands, and lastly, the acceptance by the War Department and Medical Bureau.

The chairman of the committee, Miss E. Blackwell, accompanied by its secretary, Mrs. Griffin, went to Was.h.i.+ngton in this service. Miss Blackwell's admirable report "on the selection and preparation of nurses for the army," will always be a source of pride to the Woman's Central.

In the meantime, the Finance and Executive Committees were struggling for a strong foothold. The chairman of the former, Mrs. Hamilton Fish, raised over five thousand dollars by personal effort. The latter committee had the liveliest contests, for the Government declared itself through the Army Regulation, equal to any demands, and the people were disposed to cry amen. Rumors of "a ninety days' war," and "already more lint than would be needed for years," stirred the committee to open at once a correspondence with sewing-societies, churches, and communities in New York and elsewhere. Simultaneously, the Sanitary Commission issued an explanatory circular, urgent and minute, "To the loyal women of America."

Then began that slow yet sure stream of supplies which flowed on to the close of the war, so slow, indeed, at first, and so impatiently hoped for, that the members of the committee could not wait, but must rush to the street to see the actual arrival of boxes and bales. Soon, however, that good old office, No. 10, Cooper Union, became rich in everything needed; rich, too, in young women to unpack, mark and repack, in old women to report forthcoming contributions from grocers, merchants and tradesmen, and richer than all, in those wondrous boxes of sacrifices from the country, the last blanket, the inherited quilt, curtains torn from windows, and the coa.r.s.e yet ancestral linen. In this personal self-denial the city had no part. What wonder that the whole corps of the Woman's Central felt their time and physical fatigue as nothing in comparison to these heart trials. Out of this responsive earnestness grew the carefully prepared reports and circulars, the filing of letters, thousands in number, contained in twenty-five volumes, their punctilious and grateful acknowledgement, and the thorough plan of books, three in number, by which the whole story of the Woman's Central may be learnt, and well would it repay the study.

First, The receiving book recorded the receipt and acknowledgement of box.

Second, In the day book, each page was divided into columns, in which was recorded, the letter painted on the cover of each box to designate it, and the kind and amount of supplies which each contained after repacking, only one description of supplies being placed in any one box.

So many cases were received during the four years, that the alphabet was repeated seven hundred and twenty-seven times.

Third, The ledger with its headings of "s.h.i.+rts," "drawers," "socks,"

etc., so arranged, that on sudden demand, the exact number of any article on hand could be ascertained at a glance.

Thus early began through these minute details, the effectiveness of the Woman's Central. Every woman engaged in it learnt the value of precision.

A sub-committee for New York and Brooklyn was formed, consisting of Mrs.

W. M. Fellows, and Mrs. Robert Colby, to solicit from citizens, donations of clothing, and supplies of all kinds. These ladies were active, successful and clerkly withal, giving receipts for every article received.

Those present at Dr. Bellows' Church in May, will never forget the first thrilling call for nurses on board the hospital transports. The duty was imperative, was untried and therefore startling. It was like a sudden plunge into unknown waters, yet many brave women enrolled their names.

From the Woman's Central went forth Mrs. Griffin accompanied by Mrs.

David Lane. They left at once in the "Wilson Small," and went up the York and Pamunkey rivers, and to White House, thus tasting the first horrors of war. This experience would form a brilliant chapter in the history of the Woman's Central.

In June, 1861, the a.s.sociation met with a great loss in the departure of Mrs. d'Oremieulx, for Europe. Of her Dr. Bellows said: "It would be ungrateful not to acknowledge the zeal, devotion and ability of one of the ladies of this committee, Mrs. d'Oremieulx, now absent from the country, who labored incessantly in the earlier months of the organization, and gave a most vital start to the life of this committee." This lady resumed her duties after a year's absence, and continued her characteristic force and persistency up to the close.