{"value"=>"<p>In June 1863, the Sanitary Commission began making preparations in Pennsylvania and Maryland for a seemingly imminent battle. Agents were sent to Harrisburg, Frederick, Chambersburg, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and supplies were accumulated at various locations around the area.</p> <p>Immediately following the battle at Gettysburg on July 1-3, the Commission moved wagon loads of supplies from Washington and Baltimore into the area via Westminster and Frederick. Agents set up relief and store tents, and provided food, clothing, and medicine for the thousands of wounded left behind by both Union and Confederate forces. Supplies continued to arrive via railroad primarily from Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore; the USSC’s Agency for the Purchase of Fresh Hospital Supplies also sent fresh food in refrigerated cars. Sanitary Commission agents under the supervision of Dr. Gordon Winslow in Gettysburg issued supplies directly to the various hospitals in the Gettysburg area, and also conducted inquiries for the USSC’s Hospital Directory. Activities continued at Gettysburg into November 1863.</p> <p>In mid-August 1864, a Soldiers’ Rest was opened in Harrisburg, a major railroad center, closing in January 1865; C.R. Ferguson was superintendent for most of this time. A second Soldiers' Rest was opened on March 28, 1865, with W.H. Hadley as superintendent, and was in operation until at least August 1865.</p>"}