- United States Sanitary Commission
The United States Sanitary Commission was an official agency of the
United States government, created by legislation signed byPresident of the United States Abraham Lincoln onJune 18 ,1861 , to coordinate the volunteer efforts of women who wanted to contribute to thewar effort of the Union states during theAmerican Civil War .Arising from a meeting in New York City of the Women's Central Relief Association of New York [Stille, 1866] , the organization was also inspired by the
British Sanitary Commission of theCrimean War . The volunteers raised money ($25 million), collected donations, worked asnurses , rankitchens in the Army camps, administeredhospital ship s, made uniforms, and organized Sanitary Fairs to support the Federal army with funds and supplies.The USSC worked with Union Veterans after the war to secure their bounties, back pay, and apply for pensions, until it was finally disbanded in May 1866.ref|www.forttejon.org
Henry Whitney Bellows , a Massachusetts clergyman, planned the USSC and served as its only president. According to the "Wall Street Journal", "Its first executive secretary wasFrederick Law Olmsted , the famed landscape architect who designed New York'sCentral Park ."Dugan, Ianthe Jeanne, "Civil War LettersShed Light on Pain Of Troop's Families," "Wall Street Journal", June 22, 2007; Page A1, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118245751055343871.html]George Templeton Strong , New York lawyer and diarist, helped found the commission and served as treasurer and member of the executive committee.Nevins, Allan and Thomas, Milton Halsey, editors, "The Diary of George Templeton Strong: Young Man in New York, 1835-1849" Vol. 1 (New York: Macmillan Company, 1952), pages v-xli, at [http://www.sewanee.edu/faculty/Willis/Civil_War/documents/Strongbio.html America's Civil War: George Templeton Strong] ]ee also
*
List of Sanitary Commission Hospital Ships
*Hospital Ships of the Sanitary Commission Notes
#cite web| url=http://www.forttejon.org/ussc/ussc.html|title=US Sanitary Commission historical website|accessdate=2005-12-23
External links
* [http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/rbk/soldiers/ NYPL, USSC Civil War Soldiers Inquiry Database]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.