TJ. S. SANITARY COMMISSION :nto. 76. PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE COMMISSION DURING THE PRES- ENT CAMPAIGN IX NORTHERN VIRGINIA. New Yokk, Tuesday, May 21, 1864. De. J. Foster Jenkins, General Secretary, U. S. Sanitary Commission: Mv Dear Sir,—Pursuant to the request of the Standing Com- mittee, I beg leave to present the following informal report, (necessarilv imperfect, from the haste with which it has been prepared,) of the organization and operations of the relief sys- tem of the Commission in Northeastern Virginia since the open- ing of the present campaign : I left New York on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 10, for the purpose of making a personal examination of the working of the Commission for the aid and relief of the wounded by the battles of the AYilderness and Spottsylvania. At AVashington, I learned that the wounded had collected in immense numbers at Fredericksburgh, andwrere already being transported to Belle Plain, on their way, by hospital transports, to "Washington and Alexandria. Up to Monday, the 9th, it was expected that the wounded would be sent to the rear, via Rappahannock Station, and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and to this end great Q preparations had been made by the Quartermaster's Department, under advice from the Medical Bureau. Immense trains of cars, with a full corps of Surgeons, were sent out to the Rappahannock Station on Sunday, 8th inst. There they waited until the next day, when, it having been ascertained that the wounded were already in very large num- bers at Fredericksburgh, the trains were ordered back to Alex- andria. I make this introductory statement with some precision, since it furnishes a key to the difficulties which attended the care of the wounded at Fredericksburgh, during the "period from May 8 to Thursday, May 12. Fredericksburgh is about ten miles from Belle Plain, and as the railroad from Acquia Creek had been thoroughly destroyed, the most direct and available access to the thousands of wounded already gathered at the former place, was via Potomac Creek and Belle Plain Landing. The rebels had destroyed the wharves at Belle Plain, but during the 8th and 9th of May, most vigorous efforts were made by the Quartermaster's Department to prepare a temporary landing. To this landing, on Monday and Tuesday, (9th and 10th of May,) came a fleet of transports conveying ordnance stores, fighting rations, hospital appliances, and means of shelter for the incoming wounded. The dock, a most creditable structure, considering the time within which it was built, but perhaps hardly large enough for the demands made upon its capacity, presented a fearful scene when I arrived at Belle Plain on "Wednesday afternoon. I found one of our supply barges, the Kennedy, at the dock, and Dr. Steinek directing the operations of the Commission. Down the right-hand side of the U-shaped dock, slowly moved a single file of army wagons filled with wounded men ; at the end or corner of the dock, by the gangway of a large Govern- ment transport, stood that most efficient and admirable offi- cer, Dr. Cutler, Acting Medical Inspector-General, U. S. A., 3 receiving the wounded and superintending their removal from the wagons to the deck of the transport, preparatory to their trans- fer to the hospital steamboats that lay in the offing. After each wagon had deposited its living freight, it passed around the end of the dock to the left-hand side, and there took in ammunition or fighting rations, the orders being imperative to return to the Front only with full loads of these indispensable supplies. Crowding along the narrow margin of the dock, were continuous lines of men carrying litters and stretchers on which were such of the more severely wounded as bad been removed from the wagons at the hospital tents, on the hillside above the plain. llov.v after hour, for several days, was this fearful procession kept up. It would not be proper for me to state how many thousands thus passed under Dr. Cutler's inspection, but I can- not forbear mentioning the most distinguished zeal, energy and self-devotion with which his arduous duties were performed. His administrative skill, his quick and ready humanity, his almost ubiquitous presence, his self-denying exposure to the pelting rain, while laboring to secure prompt shelter to the wounded, his night work and day work, his personal attentions to the pressing wants and minor discomforts of each individual sufferer, were the subjects of universal admiration. Dr. Brixton, (Medical Purveyor of the Army of the .Potomac,) was ;d>o there, working with efficiency in the difficult undertaking of forward- ing medical supplies promptly to Fredericksburgh and to the Front. By the end of the pier lay the barge Kennedy, the storeboat and headquarters of the Commi.-sion. Here, as elsewhere every- thing was astir. Gen. Abercrombie, Commandant of the post was making it his temporary headquarters. Out in the stream amid a promiscuous collection of transport-, lay the steamboat Raplcy, loaded with stores from the AVashington storehouses of the Commission. Xear her, lay the barge Washington, with a load of army wagons and horses for the Commission's service 4 After great difficulty, and the exercise of no little ingenuity, the stores from the Uapley were put ashore, half a mile up the creek in small boats, and the wagons loaded and sent to Fred- ericksburgh. Capt. J. AV. Clarke, of the Quartermaster's De- partment, and Capt. Lubet, Fifteenth Regiment New York Engineer Corps, gave us most cheerful and essential aid in this work. Indeed, from all the officers at the post the Com- mission received nothing but kind services and expressions of the heartiest good-will. Capts. Pn kins and Lacet, of the Quartermaster's Department, provided every facility in their power, and from Gen. Abercrombie and Col. Cutler down, everybody seemed to take pleasure in aiding us. From Mon- day the 9th, until this time, incessant exertions have been made by the officers of the Medical, Quartermaster's, Commissary's and Ordnance Departments, to remove the wounded from the rear of the army, and replenish the trains for forward movements. No one at home can form any idea of the labors of the officers in these departments, day after day, and night after night, often- times living, meanwhile, on the scantiest subsistence, such as coffee and crackers, and these hurriedly taken. AVe are often- times loud in our praises of military commanders, for achieving victory, but seldom give due credit for the result to the Quarter- masters, who work with almost superhuman energy at some base of supplies, and on whose talent, energy, and fertility in resources, the very existence of the army depends. The agents of the U. S. Sanitary Commission formed no mean feature in the scene of energy and successful labor. Up to May 21, the Commission sent, by its own wagons, nearly 200 tons of sanitary stores, in- cluding stimulants, farinaceous food, beef stock, condensed milk, bandages, &c.,from Belle Plain to Fredericksburgh. It will be interesting to note the fact here, that the relief service of the Commission has involved, since Gen. Grant crossed the Rapidan, and Gen. Butler went up the James River, the use of four steamboats, three barges, and two schooners, for the transporta- 5 tion of its stores from Washington to Belle Plain, and from Balti- more to Norfolk, the latter being the Commission's base of sup- plies for Butler's army. At Belle Plain, in addition to a relief station on the barge by the wharf, the Commission has had a corps of relief agents at a feeding station near the hospital depot, providing food for thousands of weary and hungry men who arrive there in ambulances and wagons, and another at AVhite Oak Church. half way from Belle Plain to Fredericksburgh, where hot coffee, soft crackers, and beef soup, have been issued to wounded and disabled men on their way to hospital, many of whom have not tasted food or received attention for forty-eight hours. Did space permit, I would make mention of every person engaged in this most exhaustive and beneficent labor. The operations of the Commission at Belle Plain, including the movements of trains of supply wagons, have been conducted by Mr. F. N. Knapp, whose experience in every branch of relief service has made his name the synonym for energy and benefi- cence wherever the Commission is known. At Fredericksburgh, the Commission's work, under the able direction of Dr. Douglas, Chief Inspector, is three fold. First, there is a large storehouse on Commercial street, under the care of Mr. Johnson, from which, since the 9th of May, about 200 tons of Sanitary stores have been issued to hospitals upon the requisitions of surgeons. Secondly, a corps of relief agents, numbering from 160 to 225, under the leadership of Mr. Fat divided into squads, and assigned to the various division hospitals. These relief agents report the wants of the hospitals to Air. Fay perform the duties of nurses, and seize every opportunity to min- ister to the complicated and various wants of the wounded as indicated by the advice or orders of the surgeons in charge. Thirdly, special diet kitchens, under the administration of Miss AVoolset, Mrs. Gen. Barlow, and Miss Gilson Avhile Mrs. Gibbons and daughter, and Mrs. Husband, lend their ex- c pert services to the hospitals. The special diet kitchens are tents, with ample cooking arrangements, pitched on the roads from the front to Fredericksburgh or Belle Plain. From these, soup, coffee, stimulants, soft bread, and other food, are issued to thousands of passing wounded. With the army, seven four- horse wagons carrying food, stimulants, under-clothing, and sur- gical dressings constantly move under the direction of Dr. Steiner, the Commission Inspector for the Army of the Poto- mac, and Mr. Johnson, whose services at Gettysburgh, and now at Fredericksburgh, form a bright page in the special relief work of the Commission. I should say here that these wagons moved wTith the army from Brandy Station, dispensing stores during the battles of the Wilderness, and then, passing with the wounded to Fredericksburgh, went on to Belle Plain to re- load. The Commission has now forty odd four-horse wagons of its own, carrying sanitary stores from Belle Plain to Fredericks- burgh. On Monday, May 23d, thirty-one of these wagons, car- rying nearly forty thousand pounds of sanitary stores, went in one train from Belle Plain to Fredericksburgh. On the same day, our steamboat the Uapley, in charge of Mr. Anderson, with the barge Kennedy in tow, cleared from Belle Plain and went up the Rappahannock to Fredericksburgh, to add still more largely to our supplies. Our work, then, for the sick and wounded of the army of General Meade may be summed up briefly as follows : Two steamboats and two barges for convey- ing sanitary stores from Washington to Belle Plain ; forty-four four-horse wagons for conveying sanitary stores from Belle Plain to Fredericksburgh and the Front—over two hundred tons of sanitary stores sent to Belle Plain and Fredericksburgh; more than 200 expert relief agents working at Belle Plain, White Oak Church, and Fredericksburgh; and more than 25,000 weary or wounded men fed in hospital or by the wav. The outlay for the month of May, so far, has been over two 7 hundred thousand dollars for the Army of the Potomac alone. You will remember that all these operations are in addition to what is being done, by the Commission at AVashington, for General Sherman's army, at New Orleans, on tho Red River, and elsewhere. I should say that at Fredericksburgh, the medical affairs were under the able management of Dr. Dalton, Medical Director, while large numbers of medical men from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, served day and night in the hos- pitals, aiding those devoted men, the army surgeons, in their exhaustive and most serious and cell* denving duties. Who can sum up the value of the services of the army surgeons I Who can describe, in becoming phrases, a tithe of what they do for the thousands of suffering men thrown upon their care and skill by the fearful casualties of an active campaign >. I never witness their conduct without a sense of the profoundest admir- ation, and a renewed conviction that the best work of our Com- mission is that by which we endeavor, even in a humble way, to strengthen their hands by supplementary a.-sistance. Sincerely, yours, C. R. AGXEW. APPENDIX A. Central Office, 244 F Street, Dr J. Foster Jenkins, General Secretary TJ. S. Sanitary Commission: Sir,—The following statement shows the issues made by the U. S. Sanitary Commission to the armies of Virginia, in the field, during the month of May, 1864. Air Cushions............. 130 Air Beds................ 10 Bed Ticks............... 3,541 Bed Pans............... 265 Blankets................2,932 Chambers............... 271 Candlesticks............. 312 Combs, coarse............ 2,5C8 Combs, fine.............. 1,720 Cushions................ 5,817 Head-rests............... 110 Lanterns................ 3/6 Medicine cups... ........ 315 Medicine tubes........... 238 Netting, mosquito, pes..... 268 Oil Silk, rolls............ 102 Pillows................. 3,394 Pillow cases............. 1,424 Pillow ticks.............. 3,300 Quilts.................. 1,203 Ring Cushions........... 654 Sheets.................. 1,410 Spittoons................ 265 Spit cups............... 494 Towels................. 7,798 Tin cups................ 7,40G Tin wash-basins.......... 1,235 Tin plates............... 1,893 Urinals................. 262 Mattrasses................ 144 Knives and forks.......... 1,114 Spoons................. 2,905 Stretchers............... 45 Dippers................. 100 Cotton Drawers, pairs...... 3,427 AVoolen " " ......12,304 Handkerchiefs............14,991 Forage (oats), bushels..... 2,950 Hay, lbs................15,000 Salt beef, bbls............ 6 Dessicated veg., cases...... 6 Hams, lbs............... 1,857 Shaving Brushes.......... 12 Razors.................. 12 Lard, lbs................. 127 Pants, cotton, prs......... 67 Shirts, cotton........... 6.403 Wool Shirts.............19J507 Shoes.................. 472 Slippers.................2,909 Socks, cotton........... 3,208 " wool.............. 9,451 Wrappers............... 648 Pails................... 695 Canes................ 67 Pocket flasks............. 6 Cots................... 30 Ales (see Porter), bbls..... 39 Ale, bots................ 144 Dried Apples, bbls........ 181 Arrow Root, lbs.......... 100 Beef stock, lbs............8,105 Brandy, bots............. 2,514 Canned Meat, lbs......... 4,532 Canned Fruit, lbs......... 2,254 Canned Vegetables, lbs____ 4,252 Cherry Rum, bots......... 312 Cocoa, lbs............... 326 Chocolate, sweet, lbs....... 8,584 Coffee Ext. (see Coffee), ibs. 1,266 Dried Beef, lbs........... 949 Hammers............... 22 Axes................... 40 Handsaws............... ] 8 Hatchets................ 44 Nails, lbs................ 405 Shovels................. 38 Spades.................. 9 Coffee, ground, lbs........ 3,106 Condensed Milk, lbs____. ..18,912 Crackers, bbls........... '353 Corn Starch, lbs.......... 3 582 Corn Meal, bbls.......... ' 13 Dried Peaches, bbls....... 2 Ext. Ginger, bots......... 2,628 Farina, lbs...............G 480 Gelatine, pcks............ '24 Gin, bots................ 48 Jellies and Preserves, bot... 62 Lemons, boxes........... 408 2 Lemon Syrup, bot......... 600 Maizena, lbs............. 1,854 Mustard, lbs............. 350 Nutmegs, lbs............ 20 Oat meal, lbs............ 2,344 Pickles, gals............. 942 Porter, bbls.............. 70 Potatoes, bbls............ 60 Rice, lbs............... 400 Xew England Rum, bot. ... 12 Jamaica " "____ 1,068 Sugar, Ibs...............11,868 Spices, lbs................ 119 Tamarinds, gals........... 511 \ Tea, black, Ibs........... 1,488 Tea, green, lbs........... 1,200 Tobacco, lbs............. 3,306 A7inegar, gals............ 258 Vinegar, Raspberry, bots.. . 24 Wine, foreign, bots........ 3,960 Coffee Pots.............. 119 Flour, bbls.............. 2 Wrapping paper, reams____ 13 Molasses, gals............ 182 Kerosene Oil, gals......... 174. Chisel.................. 1 Screwdriver.............. \ Gimblets................ 12 Domestic ^'ine, bot....... 975 AVhiskey, bot............ 3^20 gals............ 23 Alcohol, bot............. 280 Bandages, bbls........... 33 Bay Rum, bots............ 099 Body Bands............. ] 047 Books, boxes............. 5 Cologne, bots............ (520 dutches................ 2 843 J>ns................... 7/750 Games................. k | Lint, bbls............... 21 Old Linen, bbls........... i29 ^Iings;,.................' 2,266 Soap, lbs............... 953 Sponfsjbs.............' 309, Candles, lbs............. ] g^ Butter, lb3........ ' o'Q-Q /-■I .. ...........0,000 ^ieese;lbs.............. 1,045 f/e8'd?"............... 2.619 ■bread, loaves............ 5 387 10 Pins, papers............. 735 Envelopes...............21,325 Ink, bots................ 320 Paper, writing, rm (1,392 qr) 58 Pencils................. 5,328 Penholders.............. 1,288 Pens................... 1,288 Oakum, lbs............. 1,300 Pipes...................4,000 Chloroform, lbs........... 540 Spirits Camphor, bots...... 45 Cook Stoves and fixtures.... 12 AVall Tents, &c........... 17 Sand Paper, quire......... 1 Can Openers............. 9 Twine, Ibs............... 49£ Corkscrews.............. 40 Scissors, prs.............. 242 Popper Boxes............ e Saleratus, lbs............. 10 Pepper, lbs.............. 70 Tin Pans, for washing dishes. 22 Salt, lbs................. 1,483 Oranges, boxes........... 54 Camp Kettles............ 100 Frying Pans............. 17 Adhesive Plaster, rolls..... 44 Nutmeg Graters........... 4 Camp Stools............. 30 Baskets................. 12 Lumber, ft.............. 6,000 Straw, lbs...............16,000 China Plates.............. 24 Oil Cloth, yds............ 20 Cathartic Pills............ 200 Opium " ............0,000 " and Camp. Pills----2,000 Smoked tongues.......... 60 Rubber Blankets.......... 221 Open Links.............. 252 Feed Troughs............ 14 Splints, boxes............ 9 Matches, gross............ 36 Rubber Cloth, yds......... 682 Morphine, oz............. 17 White Flannel, yds........ 20 Chloride of Lime, lbs...... 1,870 Ligature Silk, lbs......... 3£ Haversacks.............. 150 Blouses................. 84 Hospital Car Loops........ 100 AVater Coolers........... 8 Bromine, lbs............. 2 Patent Lint, lbs........... 50 Dressing Forceps.......... 24 Tacks, papers............ 16 Wire, yds............... 100 Door Mats............... 6 Needles, gross............ 1 Mutton Tallow, lbs........ 55 Sheeting, piece........... 1 Refrigerator.............. 1 Stove Boilers............. 2 Chlorinium, boxes......... 20 Clothing, boxes........... 6 Rocking Chairs........... 6 Cider, bots.............. 57 Faucets................. 12 Augurs........... 2 Pump ................. 1 Canteens................ 224 Blacking, boxes........... 72 Sardines, " ........... 362 Paper Bags.............. 300 Washing Machines........ 3 Blank Books............. 12 Ice, tons................ 97£ Copperas, bots............ 12 Chloride Soda, bots....... 3 Medicine Chests.......... 2 Stove Brushes............ 6 Salt Pork, bbl............ 1 Stew Pans............... 12 Broilers................. 12 Frying Pans............. 12 Fresh Beef, lbs........... 2,200 "Four-horse Wagons, with harness, whips, extra whif- fletree, &c, complete..... 36 " Two-horso Wagons," do. 2 Horses.................. 156 11 The following named stores were sent from New York, and stored in Baltimore. About one-third of these were loaded on board the Bidley, and taken to Norfolk, in tow of the Kent. 4,291 galls. Pickled Tomatoes. 51,812 lbs. Canned Tomatoes. 1,106 galls. Curried Cabbage. 671 bbls. Dried Apples. 15,168 galls. Sour Kraut. 4,162 " Pickles. 3,580 " Tickled Onions. 12,060 lbs. Apple Pulp. 2,400 boxes Portable Lemonade. 1 tub Apple Butter. 1 doz. Ginger AVine. Very respectfully, Your ob't servant, AYm. A. IIovey, Assistant to Associate Secretary, Eastern Department. 12 APPENDIX B. Statement of Disbursements, during the month of May, 1864 for the national forces in Virginia. Supplies—Amount paid for purchases— At New York................ $57,942 38 At Washington............... 28,758 58 At Baltimore................. 43,404 64 ----------$13J,105 60 Distribution—Expenses of, including subsistence, trans- portation, and compensation of over two hundred relief agents, forage for horses, materials necessary for the work of agents............................. 17,150 17 Horses, Wagons, and Harness—Amount paid for... 31,755 43 Transportation—Amount paid for charter— Steamer "Kent," 20 days, to June 1st.......... $4,500 00 Steamer " J. B. Thompson," 27 days, to June 1st... 3,375 00 Steamer " Mary Rapley," 24 days, to June 1st.. . 2,400 00 Steamer " Phoenix," 7f days, to June 1st..... 690 00 Steamer " Gov. Curtin," 8 days, to June 1st...... 800 00 Schooner "Ridley," 15 days, to June 1st.......... 300 00 Barge " Washington," do. 420 00 " "Iloboken/'lOdays, to June 1st.......... 275 00 Coal, labor, &c......... 2,373 21 ----------15,133 21 Special Relief—Amount during the month......... 4 206 80 Estimated value of additional supplies contributed to the Commission and issued to the army in Southern Virginia. 130 000 00 $328,351 21