- unitid
-
{"value"=>"343878", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1861-1866", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1861/1866"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1861
- date_inclusive_end
-
1866
- keydate
-
1861
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"I. Central Office"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"141 boxes, 6 volumes, 3 oversize folders"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Historical note</p> <p>The Sanitary Commission’s Central Office at 244 F Street was an important operational hub for USSC activities from 1861-1865, serving as a base for the General Secretary, the USSC’s chief executive officer, for much of the war. With its proximity to government and military departments, and closeness to military operations in Virginia, Maryland and elsewhere, it was a major administrative, relief and supply center, especially for the east. The USSC’s general secretary (successively: Frederick Law Olmsted, J. Foster Jenkins, and John S. Blatchford) directed all USSC working departments and reported to the Standing Committee. He was supported by associate and assistant secretaries and other staff responsible for USSC Eastern Department and broader operations. The associate secretary for the Western Department, John S. Newberry, also reported to him.</p> <p>Work carried out at the Central Office included the shaping, direction and implementation of USSC policies and operations; interaction with government, military and army medical personnel; assigning and directing the work of USSC personnel, coordinating sanitary inspections and relief work; coordinating supply donations, purchases and transport; working with USSC branches in its supply and relief work; providing information and other assistance to servicemen, their families and the public; management of correspondence and other communications; and financial administration by the Central Office’s accountant.</p> <p>The general secretary was responsible to the Standing Committee for the implementation of its plans and operational efficiency. All other officers of the Commission received their instructions from the general secretary and were required to report to him regularly. Frederick Law Olmsted served in this position from June 20, 1861 until his resignation in early September 1863. Olmsted worked closely with USSC President Henry W. Bellows in shaping and directing the role of the USSC in relation to the government, the military and the public, and building its operational structure. He directly supervised USSC relief operations during major eastern campaigns and battles. He was succeeded by J. Foster Jenkins from mid-September 1863-April 1865, and lastly by John S. Blatchford, actively from May 1865 until 1871-1872, and intermittently from his home in Boston until the closing of the Sanitary Commission. Olmsted was based in Washington; Jenkins and Blatchford worked from both New York and Washington as necessary.</p> <p>The general secretary worked closely with associate secretaries, who were based in the east at Washington, D.C. (the Eastern Department) and in the west at Louisville, Kentucky (the Western Department). Associate secretaries were responsible for the general supervision of regional offices and relief stations, supply depots, USSC transportation, relief and inspection duties, and special relief services. Like the general secretary, they cultivated relations with the government and the military, and communicated with USSC branches and the public. They were responsible for determining and anticipating the needs of the Union forces and meeting them. John S. Newberry served as associate secretary of the West throughout the war, and one to two individuals held this position in Washington. J. Foster Jenkins served as associate secretary of the East from 1862-April 1863 concurrently with John H. Douglas, acting as associate secretary from 1862-1864. Frederick N. Knapp was associate secretary, alongside Douglas, from October 1863-December 1864; he supervised the USSC’s Special Relief Department for the entire course of the war. Lewis H. Steiner, chief inspector of the Army of the Potomac, served as acting associate secretary from August-October 1863.</p> <p>Sanitary inspection of Army camps, hospitals and forces in the field was initiated from the Central Office in 1861. By late 1863 a large staff of inspectors were assigned to particular USSC departments and Army commands, reporting to the associate secretary of the east or west and, through them (or through a Chief Inspector attached to an Army command), to a Chief of Inspection based in Washington (an Associate Secretary position). For some USSC staff in the field, inspection and relief were combined responsibilities. Information from inspection and other reports was processed for analysis by the Statistical Bureau, headed by the USSC’s actuary (E.B. Elliott; Benjamin A. Gould). The USSC’s Department of the Special Inspection of the General Hospitals of the Army also operated from 244 F Street during 1862-1863.</p> <p>Assistant secretaries carried out correspondence, business, supply and other duties connected with local operations at the New York, Washington and Louisville offices. At Washington, Alfred J. Bloor, working closely with Olmsted and USSC branches, held the position of assistant secretary until September 1864; subsequent assistant secretaries included William A. Hovey, John Y. Culyer and Francis Fowler. They were supported by a chief clerk, transportation and property clerks and other staff. Central Office financial activities were under the direction of its accountant, John Bowne, who also headed the USSC’s Hospital Directory. When Bowne left the USSC at the end of the war, New York Office accounting staff were transferred to Washington as needed. A number of USSC hospital visitors, who assisted with relief and supply work, as well as canvassing agents, who gave lectures in support of the USSC, also operated from the Central Office.</p> <p>During the fall of 1861, a Document Bureau was created at the Central Office to serve as the main distributor of USSC publications. The Bureau relocated to the New York Office at the end of October 1863. In June 1865, the Document Bureau was reorganized and moved back to the Central Office, but was returned to New York at the end of 1865, operating under the Historical Bureau until April 1866.</p> <p>The Central Office was located at 244 F Street from October 1861 to October 1865; prior to October 1861 it was located in a room at the U.S. Treasury Office. As the USSC prepared to close its war-relief operations by October 1, 1865, many positions were eliminated or consolidated. Some staff resigned, while others transferred to USSC offices continuing past that time. Any general office and financial tasks in Washington were then carried out at the Army and Navy Claim Agency (ANCA) by cashiers or clerks acting for both the general secretary and ANCA.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>Scope and content note</p> <p>The activities of USSC general, associate and assistant secretaries and their staff based in Washington are detailed in correspondence, reports, office journals, employment records, scrapbooks and other items illustrating the Central Office’s role as a major administrative and operational center for the Sanitary Commission.</p> <p>Correspondence forms the bulk of Central Office records, comprising an extensive series of numbered documents, mainly letters and reports received by USSC officers and staff, 1861-1865; telegrams received 1862-1863; and letters received by accountant John Bowne, 1864-1865; also, copies of letters sent by officers, clerical and accounting staff, 1861-1866, and registers of letters mailed and received.</p> <p>Numbered documents, originally numbering over 30,000 items as arranged by the USSC’s Archive Department, consist of letters, reports, shipping invoices and other items received by USSC officers and staff, 1861-1865. Notable content includes letters and telegrams from Standing Committee members to the general secretaries, when based in Washington, discussing USSC policies and initiatives, USSC Western Department operations, relations with the government, the Army and the Army Medical Bureau, particularly during the Olmsted years, and the coordination of resources to support military operations, especially in the east. Upward reporting to the General Secretary by departments and relief agents provide important details on USSC initiatives and military operations in war zones and the impact of the war on civilians. Supply and relief efforts of branches and aid societies are documented in letters and invoices (bills of lading); invoices are most prevalent for the first year of the war. Their organizational efforts are also documented.</p> <p>Copies of letters sent are contained in letterpress copybooks maintained jointly or individually by staff, including general secretaries Olmsted, Jenkins and Blatchford, assistant secretaries Bloor, associate secretaries Douglas, Steiner (acting), and Knapp; accountant/cashier John Bowne and his replacement Charles G. Lathrop; staff members William A. Hovey, John Y. Culyer, Isaac Harris, and George Sicard, holding chief clerk or assistant secretary positions after Bloor; also, copies of letters sent by chief executive officer J.B. Abbott; and Robert V. Harrison, property clerk.</p> <p>Correspondents in the above materials include USSC Standing Committee members and officers; USSC department, agency and branch personnel, and relief agents in the field; members of aid societies; government, military, and medical personnel; political, civic and religious leaders; servicemen and civilians. Topics include USSC operations and activities in the field; the creation, expansion or closing of USSC offices and departments; personnel matters; inspection and reporting on the medical and sanitary condition of Union forces and efforts to promote their health, comfort and efficiency; the donation, collection, purchase and distribution of supplies; movements of the Army and coordination of resources to prepare for battles and their aftermath; transport systems for sick and wounded soldiers; special relief work; the condition and needs of former slaves (contrabands) and southern refugees; requests for information and assistance from servicemen and civilians; requests for employment or to volunteer; publication and distribution of documents; finances and contributions, and other matters.</p> <p>A small amount of unnumbered documents, notably including Olmsted’s draft resignation letter and an 1863 oath of allegiance to the United States signed by USSC Washington staff, along with closing accounts for the Central Office, provide additional insight into USSC operations at 244 F Street. The daily activities of associate secretary Frederick N. Knapp and his assistant, William Hovey, and other Central Office staff, are documented in journals and memorandum books, 1862-1864; notable content includes relief duties associated with campaigns in Virginia in May-June, 1864.</p> <p>Miscellaneous volumes, 1861-1865, include applications for employment at the USSC, an employee contract book, a roster of USSC staff and a record of travelling missionary (canvassing) agents, scrapbooks, office directories, and other items.</p> <p>Additional correspondence of general secretaries Jenkins and Blatchford can be consulted in the New York, N.Y. Archives record group (MssCol 22263). All Document Bureau materials are now located in the New York, N.Y. Archives record group, Series III. New York Office records.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1861
- date_end
-
1866