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64 65 in a double sense, as regarded the Confederate currency I had taken from him. starve, and those who give to-day know that their turn for Afraid to lose sight of the shipping, lest my opportunity asking may come to-morrow. The agents of the Commission for returning to Washington should slip through my fingers: away from their stores, are as often obliged to live on others, (in the army a movement is as likely to be made three hours as others are on them when with their stores. Before leaving this before the time anticipated as three days after,) I could not subject, I will revert to two other points of a like nature, both go back to the place where the ambulance trains were con- affording examples of the ease with which stories are got about tinuing, as I heard, to arrive, to help our people with the affecting the reputation of the Commission's agents for honesty, wounded and in the exhaustion of my writing paper, was sobriety, and rectitude of appropriation. reduced to studying the likenesses of public buildings in I will first premise that we succeeded, in the middle of the city of New York, with which the whole house was im- Thursday, May 26, in getting on board a Government steamer, loaded with some four hundred wounded men from Fredericks- partially wall-papered-not cuttings from "illustrated week- lies," but bona fide paper-hanger's repetitions, as gorgeously burg that Dr. Harris, one of the Sanitary Commission, stored colored as the subjects would admit of-Trinity, St. Paul's, it well with supplies, which, however, owing to the want of sufficient stove accommodation on board, were cooked-those and Grace church, the Exchange, Custom House, City Hall that required cooking-slowly and with much extra trouble ; and Stewart's marble palace, the latter painfully suggestive of Delmonico's opposite, for it was now high noon, and our that instead of hurrying on to Washington, as the condition five o'clock breakfast had been tough, hurried and meagre. of the wounded demanded, we lay in the stream, owing to some conflict of authority between the captain and the medical But now, as kind fortune would have it, an opportunity pre- officials on shore, all that day and the following night, when sented itself for gaining the Mary F. Rapley, and hurrying it rained heavily ; that after sending ashore to be buried, down to the wharf and into a row boat, we-my traveling com- under charge of a chaplain, the bodies of five men from our own panions and myself-were soon on board, and at the board vessel and from another one alongside, we steamed off abouteight of the welcoming commander, in company with officers, sol- o'clock on the morning of Friday, in consort with the other ves- diers, newspaper reporters and other hangers-on of thearmy. sel, passing several fine houses and estates, especially one with a And were they fed luxuriously on crackers, tough beef, ham large and elegant modern structure on a fine lawn and two or and coffee from the stores of the Commission, furnished by three dozen comfortable two-story houses-negro quarters, I the liberality of the public ? Certainly. Would the public presume-ranged along the river's bank; steamed through Ches- have them starve ? No, but had they not money in their apeake Bay in the twilight; passed the bar in the Potomac about pockets?-could they not buy ? In the village? No, be- nine o'clock, (during which I had to put out the lights carried cause it is a deserted one; there are neither sellers nor goods by the attendants, to prevent their constant collision with the in it, and one's money is of as little use as if one were in an irascible captain, whose eyes were dazzled by the shifting glare uninhabited island. From the Commission's agents No, from the lanterns as he was sounding, and who rightly, if petu- because the Commission has nothing to sell; it has only to lantly, opined that it was better the patients should be clumsily give. Besides, in the army, and especially in the van of the waited on in the dark for half an hour than that they should army, before the supplies have come up, the law of meum be subjected to the risk of going to the bottom,) and finally and tuum is necessarily almost abrogated, by common con- reached Washington about two o'clock in the morning of Sat- sent, otherwise those who have not food with them would urday, the 28th, where I found our people on the dock in readiness to receive the wounded, and supplement the excel- 5 L

Document source description

This item is a compilation of letters, written by Alfred J. Bloor, to several supply correspondents of the U.S. Sanitary Commission while serving in the field.

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    "ocrText": "64\n65\nin a double sense, as regarded the Confederate currency I\nhad taken from him.\nstarve, and those who give to-day know that their turn for\nAfraid to lose sight of the shipping, lest my opportunity\nasking may come to-morrow. The agents of the Commission\nfor returning to Washington should slip through my fingers:\naway from their stores, are as often obliged to live on others,\n(in the army a movement is as likely to be made three hours\nas others are on them when with their stores. Before leaving this\nbefore the time anticipated as three days after,) I could not\nsubject, I will revert to two other points of a like nature, both\ngo back to the place where the ambulance trains were con-\naffording examples of the ease with which stories are got about\ntinuing, as I heard, to arrive, to help our people with the\naffecting the reputation of the Commission's agents for honesty,\nwounded and in the exhaustion of my writing paper, was\nsobriety, and rectitude of appropriation.\nreduced to studying the likenesses of public buildings in\nI will first premise that we succeeded, in the middle of\nthe city of New York, with which the whole house was im-\nThursday, May 26, in getting on board a Government steamer,\nloaded with some four hundred wounded men from Fredericks-\npartially wall-papered-not cuttings from \"illustrated week-\nlies,\" but bona fide paper-hanger's repetitions, as gorgeously\nburg that Dr. Harris, one of the Sanitary Commission, stored\ncolored as the subjects would admit of-Trinity, St. Paul's,\nit well with supplies, which, however, owing to the want of\nsufficient stove accommodation on board, were cooked-those\nand Grace church, the Exchange, Custom House, City Hall\nthat required cooking-slowly and with much extra trouble ;\nand Stewart's marble palace, the latter painfully suggestive\nof Delmonico's opposite, for it was now high noon, and our\nthat instead of hurrying on to Washington, as the condition\nfive o'clock breakfast had been tough, hurried and meagre.\nof the wounded demanded, we lay in the stream, owing to\nsome conflict of authority between the captain and the medical\nBut now, as kind fortune would have it, an opportunity pre-\nofficials on shore, all that day and the following night, when\nsented itself for gaining the Mary F. Rapley, and hurrying\nit rained heavily ; that after sending ashore to be buried,\ndown to the wharf and into a row boat, we-my traveling com-\nunder charge of a chaplain, the bodies of five men from our own\npanions and myself-were soon on board, and at the board\nvessel and from another one alongside, we steamed off abouteight\nof the welcoming commander, in company with officers, sol-\no'clock on the morning of Friday, in consort with the other ves-\ndiers, newspaper reporters and other hangers-on of thearmy.\nsel, passing several fine houses and estates, especially one with a\nAnd were they fed luxuriously on crackers, tough beef, ham\nlarge and elegant modern structure on a fine lawn and two or\nand coffee from the stores of the Commission, furnished by\nthree dozen comfortable two-story houses-negro quarters, I\nthe liberality of the public ? Certainly. Would the public\npresume-ranged along the river's bank; steamed through Ches-\nhave them starve ? No, but had they not money in their\napeake Bay in the twilight; passed the bar in the Potomac about\npockets?-could they not buy ? In the village? No, be-\nnine o'clock, (during which I had to put out the lights carried\ncause it is a deserted one; there are neither sellers nor goods\nby the attendants, to prevent their constant collision with the\nin it, and one's money is of as little use as if one were in an\nirascible captain, whose eyes were dazzled by the shifting glare\nuninhabited island. From the Commission's agents No,\nfrom the lanterns as he was sounding, and who rightly, if petu-\nbecause the Commission has nothing to sell; it has only to\nlantly, opined that it was better the patients should be clumsily\ngive. Besides, in the army, and especially in the van of the\nwaited on in the dark for half an hour than that they should\narmy, before the supplies have come up, the law of meum\nbe subjected to the risk of going to the bottom,) and finally\nand tuum is necessarily almost abrogated, by common con-\nreached Washington about two o'clock in the morning of Sat-\nsent, otherwise those who have not food with them would\nurday, the 28th, where I found our people on the dock in\nreadiness to receive the wounded, and supplement the excel-\n5 L"
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