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{
    "localId": "24325433",
    "label": "No. 80 Letters from the Army of the Potomac written during the Month of May 1864 to several of the Supply Correspondents of the U.S. Sanitary Commission",
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{
    "id": "24325433",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "No. 80 Letters from the Army of the Potomac written during the Month of May 1864 to several of the Supply Correspondents of the U.S. Sanitary Commission",
    "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.",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/24325433",
    "collections": [
        "Records of the American National Red Cross",
        "Reports, Essays, and Other Issuances"
    ],
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    "levelOfDescription": "item",
    "productionDates": [
        {
            "logicalDate": "1864-05-01",
            "month": 5,
            "year": 1864
        }
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    "ocrText": "6\n7\nsupplant that which is previously provided, they think it\ncracker man never trenching on the lady's coffee pail, and\nadvisable not to wade up to the lodge knee-deep in Vir-\nthe coffee lady leaving the beef-tea religiously to another.\nginia mud, nor do they consider that the cause of humanity\nInfinitely more may be done by systematically pursuing\ndemands the waking up of some poor fellows who are wait-\nthis plan of speciality. If, when the beef-tea is being\ning the next boat, and the administering to them of pound-\ncarried round, some poor fellow shakes his head, and im-\ncake, pies, and surreptitious draughts of bad whisky ; so we\nploringly asks for water or stimulant, one must not set\npresently get into the row-boat again, and the ladies are\ndown the beef-tea to be kicked over before one gets back,\nbefore long occupying the pilot house-the polite and ejected\nand rush off to spend half an hour in searching for water or\ncaptain seeking other quarters-while the men dispose them-\nstimulant, so depriving a hundred men of beef-tea, for the\nselves for the night upon the decks, those that have rubber\nsake of trying to get one man something which will probably\ncoats or blankets to keep off the rain, now descending faster\nbe furnished him by the allotted water or whisky bearer in\nthan ever, feeling their great advantage over those who,\nthree minutes after. One must humanely harden one's\nrubberless, vainly seek dry spots whereover there are no\nheart, and say with stern tenderness, \"Yes, my boy, all\nleaking places in the ceiled roof.\nright, a lady will be along with some delicious iced water in\nThe next morning-very early indeed, the sleeping accom-\na minute or two;' and he will probably smile and say,\nmodations offering few inducements to people of sy baritic\n\" Thank you, sir, all right, I can wait. Say, mister, there's\ntendencies-thel Relief Agents are almost all started for Fred-\na fellow right acrost there-that one with his leg off and his\nericksburg, and our small party enter the lists as Relief\nhead bound up, he belongs to my company-he ain't had\nAgents on the spot. The scene of yesterday is renewed in\nnothing to eat since the day before yesterday. I guess he'd\nall its details, and as the wounded men are borne in, hour\nlike some o' that 'ere stuff. Won't you please give him\nafter hour, in one long string, the pale and often blood-\nsome?\nstained occupant of every stretcher is furnished, according\n11 But the giving of sustenance is not all the work. One\nto his needs, by one or other of the party, with crackers,\nman complains of his head being too low, and his overcoat\nbeef-tea, coffee, wine, water, or lemonade. The wine and\nhas to be rolled up-or, failing that, the straw around him\nlemonade are given only on the advice of a medical man,\nhas to be gathered up-so as to form a pillow for him. (The\nand sometimes the one is intensified into brandy, and the\npallets and bedding have given out, though the first boat\nother into the unmixed juice of the lemon. But for men\nloads sent off were as comfortably provided for as if in the\nexhausted with lying on the battle-field for many hours,\nwards of a general hospital, and the men we are tending\nsometimes for a day or two, without food or drink, thence\nare lying on the docks on straw; but this they count luxury\npassed to the operating table, and thence to the ambulance,\nafter the battle-field and ambulance.) Another wants\na\nthe other things may be given, in most instances, in such\nhandkerchief, and another a pair of socks. This man'sshirt\nquantities as they crave. Poor fellows, they clutch at\nis all torn and bloody, and must be replaced by another.\nthem-but always with a \"thank you if they thought\nOne man complains of the intolerable heat, and some of his\nthey could swallow the basket or bottles along with the con-\nclothing must be removed ; another is shivering with cold,\ntents, but a few mouthfuls is generally all they have strength\nand more clothing, or an extra blanket, must be provided\nto manage. It is best for each one of such a relief party to\nfor him. Here is one who feels the hand of death upon\nconfine oneself to the distribution of a single article-the\nhim, and the head of that one of our party who is tending"
}