{"value"=>"<p>Accounts and vouchers for Washington, D.C. consist of financial records of the Central Office, the Special Relief Department, and the Agency for the Purchase of Fresh Hospital Supplies.</p> <p>The financial records of the Central Office reflect their work in maintaining the financial integrity of the Central Office accounts and those of the entire USSC in collaboration with New York financial staff. John Bowne served as accountant and cashier at the Central Office in Washington, D.C. from 1862 to April 1865. He was assisted by various staff members, including F. A. Cave, Howard A. Martin, and Joseph H. Wellman. After the closure of premises at 244 F Street in late 1865, USSC Washington expenses were handled by various cashiers at the USSC’s Army and Navy Claim Agency.</p> <p>Central Office records, 1861-1867, consist of cash accounts, account books, statements of accounts and statements of consolidated accounts, trial balances, miscellaneous accounts, orders, bank accounts, and miscellaneous documents and volumes.</p> <p>Cash accounts chiefly consist of vouchers collected by the Central Office from their own office and other USSC Washington-based departments. These vouchers are numbered and correspond to the weekly and monthly cash accounts as well as the Central Office cash books. Account books, documenting all of the financial transactions completed at this office, consist of cash books, journals, ledgers, daybooks, and cash balances. Statements of accounts, statements of consolidated accounts, and trial balances include financial reports for stated periods for the Central Office, USSC, and other departments or offices, as noted.Statements of consolidated accounts include a comparison of Central Office and Western Department accounts, which was submitted by Frederick Law Olmsted at the time of his resignation from the USSC in 1863. Miscellaneous accounts consist of bills, receipts, rosters, accounting and financial statements, including correspondence largely directed to Bowne and Martin, arranged alphabetically by staff member, USSC location or supply type. Orders document various work orders, supply requests and purchases placed by USSC personnel with merchants and craftsmen for USSC Washington, D.C. locations. Bank accounts consist of bank books, check stub books, and cancelled checks.</p> <p>Special Relief Department financial records, 1861-1865, are present for the Department’s office, the Home, Lodge Number 4, the Alexandria Lodge, and the Lodge in Memphis, Tennessee. Materials from this department were sometimes included in the Central Office’s monthly cash accounts.</p> <p>Records concerning the Agency for the Purchase of Fresh Hospital Supplies, 1863-1864, reflect its efforts to acquire market supplies at lower cost in Philadelphia, and to ship them to Washington or Gettysburg for distribution. The bulk of the records were maintained by the cashiers of the Central Office as they relate to this agency; however, some materials, such as bills and invoices, are the combined records of the Washington and Philadelphia offices of the agency. Also present are freight bills and receipts for two express shipping companies. Philadelphia office account books are found in the Agency for the Purchase of Fresh Hospital Supplies series in the USSC Washington, D.C. Archives record group.</p>"}