{"value"=>"<p>The New York, N.Y. Archives, 1861-1878, comprise the records of the USSC’s Standing Committee, papers of USSC president Henry W. Bellows, records of the New York Office, and the Historical Bureau.</p> <p>Records of the Standing Committee records and the papers of Henry W. Bellows include correspondence, minutes, reports and other materials illuminating strategic planning and decision-making at the highest level over the course of much of the USSC’s existence.</p> <p>Activities of the New York Office, established in 1862, are reflected in correspondence and other records documenting its direction of the USSC’s hospital transport work in 1862; the coordination of the shipment of supplies collected by the Woman’s Central Association of Relief and other branches to Washington, Baltimore, and USSC departments in the field; and its location as a base for the USSC’s general secretary when in New York, especially after administrative reorganization in the fall of 1863, and for accounting staff. Also represented is the work of the USSC’s Document Bureau, the main distributor of USSC publications, and the Lincoln Home, which provided shelter and other assistance for disabled and discharged soldiers after the war.</p> <p>The primary function of the USSC’s Historical Bureau was to collect, preserve, and arrange the Commission’s archives. Organized in 1865 under the direction of General Secretary John S. Blatchford, the Bureau also supervised the production of various Commission histories and final reports, and was the administrative center for USSC post-war activities, including some special relief work in New York City. Historical Bureau records consist of correspondence, registers of documents in the USSC archives, reports and records received from local aid societies and USSC personnel, scrapbooks of USSC printed matter, and registers and reports of special relief activities. Also present are original writings and other materials submitted and compiled for proposed USSC historical publications, as arranged in the Special Relief Archives and Medical Committee Archives.</p>"}