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KANTOR COLLECTION
OF U.S. SANITARY COMMISSION AND CIVIL WAR |
Size: 6.0 linear feet
Literary rights:
Literary rights were granted to Wichita State University. When permission
is granted to examine the manuscripts, it is not an authorization to publish
them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication without regard for common law
literary rights, copyright laws
and the laws of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her
publisher to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually
plan to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall
restrictions on publication before initial research.
Content Note
The Kantor Collection contains a wide range of material relating to the United
States Sanitary Collection. The collection includes: correspondence, imprints
and circulates, music sheets, broadsides, tickets, some miscellaneous items,
pamphlets, and books. Each item in the collection communicates in some way the
role and importance of U.S. Sanitary Commission in the Civil War. The books
and pamphlets have been catalogued separately and are not with the manuscript
collection.
Historical Note
Little is known about the United States Sanitary Commission, yet it represented
one of the few truly democratic efforts in American History. The federally approved
Commission evolved out of the concerted efforts of private citizens who were
alarmed at the lack of medical support for the Union military forces in 1861.
For, on the eve of the Civil War the military had neither plan, personnel, nor
equipment for collecting wounded soldiers from the battlefield; caring for them
in the hospital, or transporting them to the rear.
During that first year of war there were individuals who intuitively knew that by the end of 1861 the military would not have enough of the necessary supplies to care for the amount of men it had recruited in April. These physicians, clergy, and women were determined to fill the void left by the military medical department. Working separately at first, then later in small groups, the dedicated individuals spearheaded community drives to collect materials needed by the Union Army to care for soldiers' health and well-being.
As one might imagine, there was such a ground swell of popular support that the grass-roots movement almost ended before it began. The procedure was logical enough; volunteers, such as ladies auxiliary groups, canvassed their community for goods to ship to the troops in the battlefield. From across the nation these groups solicited for every kind of item imaginable from the shelves and cupboards of homes, then sent the packages to the cities where the goods were routed to the state regiments. Problems arose because the supplies rapidly accumulated at the train depot and in the volunteers' parlors and sheds, making centralization inevitable; the local operations had to coalesce, a formal, government-recognized organization was needed.
Both the supporters and detractors of the volunteer suppliers wanted the federal government to take some kind of responsibility for the care and the well-being of its military men. So under this mounting pressure, President Lincoln reluctantly signed an executive order in April, 1861 formally recognizing the volunteer group as the United States Sanitary Commission. Despite the Commission's humble beginnings, the movement swiftly grew into a highly efficient relief organization. Quite an accomplishment for the organization Lincoln referred to as "the fifth wheel to the State Coach".
The Sanitary Commission's object, wrote Mary Livermore, "was to do what the government could not". The "could" here was relative; the government had not yet conceived that it was its responsibility to care for the health, comfort, and the general welfare of the Union soldiers. Therefore, the Commission did a little bit of everything. For the four years of war its inspectors looked into the sanitary arrangements in camps; hence its name, and brought about health reforms of all kinds. It also reviewed matters of diet, cooking, clothing; collected and forwarded boxed food to soldiers. The organization was a combination of the YMCA, Red Cross, USO, and helped out with nursing and hospital care.
Throughout the war the Commission operated solely on Northern contributions; people gave money, supplies, and time to ensure that soldiers would not suffer needlessly during the Civil War years. So sound was their fund-raising campaign that not once did they rely on federal monetary aid. In fact, if success is calculated in dollars and cents then the Commission's was phenomenal. Relying only on bazaar proceeds and small charitable contributions, the group and its affiliate branches raised an unheard of amount for that time. It has been calculated that the Commission raised over $4 million; enough to supply all of the medical needs of the Union soldiers and their prisoners for the duration of the war. This support was made possible by the Northern American public.
Acquisition: Gift from Robert and Marjorie Kantor
Processed by: KJC, 15 May 1992; JEF, 5-4-1998
