USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2 > Part 43
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The testimony of the officials in the several States from which soldiers passed through Philadelphia was unreserved and appreciative of the great work done by the Union organiza- tion. Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, writes : "Gratefully acknowledging the comfort, encouragement, and consolation
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afforded to many thousands of our New England soldiers, to whom, in their hunger, thirst, weariness, and sickness, our devoted friends in Philadelphia have administered with unfailing gener- osity, kindness and solicitude." Governor Holbrook, of Vermont : "Over 6000 of the volunteer soldiers of Vermont, on their way to the seat of war, have been refreshed and comforted at your Saloon, and 'Our Green Mountain Boys' remember the kind attentions of the citizens of Philadelphia with lively gratitude. On behalf of the State of Vermont, I return hearty thanks for the . kindness shown to our soldiers on their passage through your city." Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut: "Such disin- . terested and self-sacrificing benevolence will be gratefully re- membered, not only by the soldiers, but by their many friends in this State." Secretary Seward: "The disinterested patriotism and benevolence of those who manage that institution have for some time past attracted my attention and admiration." The Hon. Edward Everett : "No one circumstance, I am sure, has contributed more to the comfort and health of our patriotic fellow-citizens who have obeyed their country's call. It has given your city a new and most commanding title to her beauti- ful name."
Nor were the efforts of this association confined to the refresh- ment of soldiers at its own rooms. Stores were shipped to St. Louis, to Kentucky, and other points, in response to earnest calls for help from similar institutions. Many young men who had received leave of absence, as a reward for good conduct, to attend military schools in the city in preparation to command colored troops, were allowed to take their meals and lodge at the Saloon: On the homeward march soldiers often came with con- siderable sums of money, and were fit subjects for the wiles of the sharper, having been not unfrequently drugged and robbed. Large numbers were induced to send this to their families, mem- bers of the committee often laboring until midnight in writing letters and despatching them. Sums were also sent by express. Over $50,000 were thus forwarded, $15,000 having been sent at one time. After the battle of Bull Run, 290 sick and wounded soldiers from that disastrous field, who could not find a place in the United States hospitals, were taken in charge by the Union
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committee, and 260 of them were permanently provided for, many of them taken to the homes of its members, some remaining a period of three months. After the battle of Gettysburg, over 700 patients were received, the utmost energies being taxed for a time in burying the dead, dressing the wounded, attending the surgeons in their ghastly work, and in ministering to their daily wants. Divine services were held for the benefit of soldiers in "the hospitals in January, 1864, at which clergymen from the various denominations officiated.
The following were the officers of this great charity : Chairman, Arad Barrows; Recording Secretary, J. B. Wade; Treasurer, B. S. Brown; Steward, J. T. Williams ; Physician, E. Ward; Corresponding Secretary and General Financial Agent, Samuel B. Fales.
Committee of Gentlemen: Arad Barrows, Bazilla S. Brown, Joseph B. Wade, Isaac B. Smith, Sr., Erasmus W. Cooper, Job T. Williams, John W. Hicks, George Flomerfelt, John Krider, Sr., Isaac B. Smith, Jr., Charles B. Grieves, James McGlathery, John B. Smith, Curtis Myers, Dr. Eliab Ward, Christian Powell, W. S. Mason, Charles S. Clampitt, D. L. Flanigan, Richard Sharp, James Cassel, Samuel B. Fales, Robert R. Corson, and John T. Wilson.
Committee of Ladies : Mrs. Mary Grover, Hannah Smith, Pris- cilla Grover, Margaret Boyer, Eliza J. Smith, Anna Elkinton, Ellen B. Barrows, Mary L. Field, Ellen J. Lowry, Mary D. Wade, Eliza Plummer, Mary A. Cassedy, Mary Lec, Emily Mason, Mary Green, Eliza Helmbold, Elizabeth Horton, Sarah Femington, Kate B. Anderson, and Hannah F. Bailey, and Misses Sarah Holland, Catherine Bailey, Amanda Lee, Anna Grover, Martha B. Krider, Annie Field, and Mary Grover.
With the exception of the Steward, who was constantly em- ployed and who had responsible and laborious duties to perform, none of the officers or agents of the association received any com- pensation. Mr. Fales, who was a man of large means, of exten- sive acquirements and scholarly tastes, gave his almost exclusive attention for over four and a half years to this work, often laboring till late at night though his life had passed the bounds of half a century. He was a native of Boston and allied by birth
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to the families of Governor Bradford and James Otis; was edu- cated at Harvard College, and previous to the war was engaged in making a collection of paintings and other fine art works, which he suspended entirely to engage in the labors of the Union Saloon. His influence, during the whole period, among wealthy citizens was very great in procuring the necessary funds, and from the fact that the association was not incorporated he was individually liable, as were his associates, for any debts incurred in its management. Since the war he has been made a Com- panion of the Military Order of the "Loyal Legion of the United States,"-an association which admitted to companionship but one civilian to fifty officers,-a high mark of approval, by military men, of his great services in behalf of soldiers during the war, and in the engrossed resolutions of the Committee of the Union Volun- teer Refreshment Saloon, he was designated the SOLDIERS' FRIEND.
· Mrs. Eliza G. Plummer, born in 1812, had been for twenty-five years a widow. Though in humble circumstances, she had been long known as the friend of the sick and needy, and when the Saloon and the Hospital were opened, was among the most un- tiring in her attentions, and was made principal of the latter. When, in 1862, the accommodations were insufficient for the numbers of the sick and wounded, she took some of the worst cases of virulent typhoid fever to her own home, and nursed them with a mother's tenderness. At the fair held in 1863, and in caring for the Gettysburg wounded who came almost simultane- ously with that event, she was debilitated by excessive labor, and soon after sank to the grave, widely lamented and mourned. Mrs. Mary B. Wade, past seventy, known among the soldiers as Mother Wade; Mrs. Ellen J. Lowry, past fifty, a native of Balti- more; and Mrs. Margaret Boyer, of Philadelphia, also advanced in years, were among the active and untiring.
On the 1st of January, 1863, a beautiful eagle, the National emblem, measuring fourteen feet from tip to tip, and standing nearly six feet in height, artistically carved and gilded, the work of employés of the Navy Yard, was presented to the Saloon, and was placed upon the roof over the main entrance. Mr. T. Buchanan Read subsequently read at the Academy of Music the following poem, suggested by its sunlit appearance, appropri-
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ately dedicated to Mr. Samuel B. Fales, in recognition of his tireless labors :
I saw in a vision with glory o'errun,
A great golden Eagle flash out of the sun ; His wide wings of splendor were lit like the morn,
Ablaze with the hue of the place he was born. He had heard the first shell that at Sumter was hurled,
And at once his broad pinions of light were unfurled ;
His eyes flashing anger -- his talons beneath,
Holding the bolts threatening treason with death-
The bolts that in lightning and thunder were poured
In defence of the right -- in the name of the Lord !
He heard the great North call loudly to arms- Saw the West pouring legions from cities and farms- The Excelsior State give her patriot sons, And the solid old Keystone, a-glitter with guns! Just think, if you can, as he drop't down the sky, What a wonderful picture lay under his eye :
There were long lines of dust with the bayonet's quiver,
Moving southward unchecked, like a storm-swollen river,
That at last breaks its banks and pours over the plain A terrible deluge that naught can restrain : And the cavalry, swift as the shades of a cloud, Swept the field, where the foe like a harvest was bowed,
And where those brave champions were sheltered and fed, He perched with his guardian wings wide overhead. How the soldier's eye glistened, as gazing aloof, He saw the great emblem that brightened the roof. There many a blue-coat, with dust almost gray, Breathed a blessing and prayer as he went on his way, And the poor wounded veteran, borne up from the fight, Smiled a smile of relief as that bird flashed in sight, For he knew that beneath, in that hospital ward, Great patriot hearts kept their tireless guard : Kind men and kind women, whom toil could not tame, Who wrought not for pay, and who dreamed not of fame: They sought no promotion, their labor was love --- But their crowns and their stars surely wait them above, Where the angel of freedom her gratitude sings, And stands like that Eagle with welcoming wings."
When, in 1868, the Republican National Convention for the nomination of a candidate for President and Vice-President assembled in Philadelphia, there came from near and far large numbers of soldiers, members of an organization known as the Boys in Blue. When the patrons of the Old Union Saloon learned that soldiers were coming, former recollections were revived. A meeting of the former committee, and those who had shown such disinterested charity and philanthropy during the years of
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peril, was called, and it was proposed, as of old, to buckle on the armor and again take them by the hand in glad welcome. The objection was raised that these were men of one particular party and the Saloon would be committed by such an act to a political organization. But to this it was answered that, as during the war the party or creed of the applicant for bounty was never asked, but the refugee, the contraband, and even rebel deserter, was received and fed, so now it was enough to know that they had been the country's defenders. This view prevailed, and once more the committee and their assistants gathered in their stores. Again was the old gun brought into requisition, and its voice echoed across the Delaware, and along the waters of the Schuylkill. National Hall was taken possession of, and transformed into a saloon, and in the space of forty-eight hours 29,000 meals were furnished. The entire force of the former society, from highest to lowest, even to Mother Wade, now past eighty, was out. Old associations were joyfully recalled, and the heart of the donor and the recipient of bounty were together made glad.
HE COOPER SHOP VOLUNTEER REFRESHMENT SALOON, of Phila- delphia, which, like the Union Saloon, with which it was in- timately associated, has attained a reputation broad as the national domain by its open-handed charity, took its name from the build- ing where it was located, which previous to the war had been used for the manufacture of shooks for the West India trade. This building, 32 by 150 fect, stands upon Otsego street, a few rods south of Washington Avenue, near the line of march of soldiers passing through the city on their way to or from the front. When the tide of troops, carly in 1861, began to set towards the national capital, and the weary and travel-stained soldiers paused for refreshments which kind-hearted women of the neighborhood prepared for them in the open street, Messrs. William M. Cooper and H. W. Pearce, who in company carried on the business in this building, suggested that it be taken for a Saloon. Boilers were accordingly obtained and set in the great fire-place, tables were extemporized and thus the work was begun. Those interested first brought provisions from their own homes
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but as the troops came in great numbers they appealed for help to butchers, grocers, milkmen, and even farmers, in a wide circuit. Mrs. Thomas D. Grover rendered efficient aid in collecting pro- visions, and her example was emulated by others. Their call was promptly responded to, and their humble enterprise grew into a large and well-managed institution, doing well and faith- fully its self-appointed work. A hospital was also established over which Andrew Nebinger, M. D., presided, giving freely his services and attention. A committee of ladies, at the head of which was Miss Anna M. Ross, devoted itself to the care of the suffering. The wash-boilers in the old fire-place were eventually succeeded by a mammoth range, where hourly a hundred gallons of coffee could be made.
The Cooper Shop and the Union Saloons worked harmoniously side by side, the only rivalry being in the strife to see which should do the most good, and ample opportunity was found for their united labors. That there might be no clashing in the practical working of their organizations a committee of three from each was appointed to arrange the details of receiving soldiers, afterwards reduced to one from each, and finally increased to three in May, 1863, and consisted of Messrs. Sharp, Mason, and Brown from the Union, with Messrs. Plant, Coward, and Mellen from the Cooper Shop. By these it was agreed that each should alternately entertain the officers and an cqual division of enlisted men. When the arrivals were less than two hundred in number, each in turn was to receive all who came within a space of twenty-four hours. In a brief address at Con- cert IIall on the occasion of a benefit to the Saloon, on the 22d of November, 1864, Miss Cordelia Cappell said: "When the care- worn soldier, his wounds still bleeding, comes from the battle- field, he finds at the Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon a solution of the problem of what constitutes true patriotism and philanthropy. The extended hand not empty-the cheerful wel- come not an empty sound-a place at a table never bare -- give him the sweet assurance that the welcome is like the great sea's ebb, which only retires when laden with inestimable blessings.
. Not only to the returned soldier are its doors open, but to . . the gallant boys passing to the field of battle, their martial spirit
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beaming from their sparkling eyes, does this oasis present itself. The cooling streams in the deserts of Arabia are not more wel- come to the weary, wandering traveller than is the Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon to our returned volunteers ! It remained for this war to elicit and bring forth all the noble qual- ities of men and women, to sustain a country that has no parallel in history." Miss Anna M. Ross, the Lady Principal of the hospital, in closing an appeal for aid, dated March 1st, 1862, said : " Since the opening of the hospital, on the 29th of October Jast, there have been received in it 130 patients; of these 113 have left the hospital either cured or relieved; three have died and fourteen are now in the ward-a large number of patients, certainly, to be treated in so small a hospital, in a space of time covering only five months. This little institution now presents itself to you and your congregation, and solicits your and their aid. The defenders of our bleeding yet glorious Union implore your help. The cause of humanity begs you for assistance, and the soldier-sick and a stranger among us-asks you to give, and he knows that to ask will be to receive."
Early in the year 1862, the hospital was placed under the charge of a committee of three ladies: Mrs. R. P. King, Mrs. William Struthers, and Mrs. Hatch, in addition to the Principal, with power to add three others to their number. The supply of drugs, which was quite complete, was under the charge of Mr. Robert Nebinger, who labored with great zeal to make the col- lection serviceable. The increasing demands upon the associ- ation for hospital care and treatment, and from a class who, having been discharged from the service of the United States, were still not beyond the bounds of humanity and mercy, induced the managers to project a Soldiers' Home, a charter for which was obtained on the 15th of February, 1862, from the Phila- delphia Court. Not until September could suitable apartments be procured. To raise the necessary funds to open it, and to form a nucleus for future efforts, a fair was held by the ladies associ- ated in the management of the Saloon, headed by Miss Ross, the Principal, from which the sum of $2400 was realized. The necessary repairs and preparations having been made, it was formally opened and dedicated to its purposes. But, on the very
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day that the dedication took place, she who had been among the foremost in laboring to establish it was called to her final rest. Possessed of a vigorous constitution, and urged forward by unfailing energy, in her zeal to minister to the infirmities of others she had utterly neglected to care for herself. "Fatigue," says Dr. Moore, in his history of the Saloon, "numbness, a sense of extreme cold, and finally paralysis supervened, and this faitlı- ful servant of God remained for days in a state of unconscious- ness. When she aroused from this, she felt as if death were approaching, and embracing her friends, peacefully breathed her last. . . . An immense concourse of people attended the honored remains to their last resting-place in Monument Cemetery, where, with clustering roses, beneath a stately cedar, her tomb is marked by a chaste monument of marble, and an appropriate inscription testifies the appreciation of her worth by sorrowing friends, records her virtues, and presents the passer-by with a noble sub- ject for emulation. On the day of her decease, while she lingered in the last struggles of expiring nature, the 'Cooper Shop Soldiers' Home' was dedicated. Thus she 'rests from her labors and her works do follow her.' She was about fifty years of age."
After the death of Miss Ross, Mrs. Abigail Horner became Lady Principal of the hospital, and was ably seconded by Mrs. J. Floyd, Mrs. J. Perry, Mrs. R. P. King, Mrs. E. E. Roberts, Mrs. William M. Cooper, and Mrs. P. Fitzpatrick. An Act of incorporation of the Home was obtained from the Legislature on the 20th of April, 1864; but it was soon after merged in the Soldiers' Home of Philadelphia. The number of men under treatment from the organization of the hospital to May 25th, 1862, was 159; to May 25th, 1863, 305; to May 25th, 1864, eighty-five were admitted, two died, and seventy-nine were dis- charged; and to 1865, twelve died and 291 were discharged. This number is exclusive of several thousands of soldiers who, passing through the city, received dispensary treatment. At the close of the war it had 160 inmates, and by the proceeds of a fair held for the purpose, in which the managers were aided by several influential citizens, at the head of whom was General Meade, it had an invested fund for its perpetual support of $100,000. The location of the Home was at first at Race and Crown streets, but
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was subsequently at Sixteenth and Filbert streets, in the State Arsenal, the use of which was kindly granted by the Legislature. "The institution," says Dr. Moore, "as the visitor enters, presents an appearance of great interest. The name of any patriot soldier or sailor is at once put upon the books, and his place assigned him. If he desires to read, an extensive, well-selected library provides him with a valuable and varied collection of books. A School furnishes instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, and other useful branches. The dormitory is spacious and well ventilated, while a hospital, complete and well ordered, receives the sick, who are attended by a Resident Physician, and daily by another in conjunction. The apothecary's shop is full of medicines, capable of relieving the maladies of the patients in all but desperate cases. These supplies, called to the aid of science, mitigate the sufferings of the brave defenders of their country, who are well cared for. There is a Bible class, in which a considerable number meet daily to read the Scriptures, and a spacious chapel where divine service is held. The supply at table is excellent, nutritious and plentiful. The inmates partake of the meals with good order, and it is an interesting sight to see them. The melodeon and other musical instruments are called into requisition during the evening, and the time passes delightfully away, all being improv- ing from the beginning to the end, morally and intellectually. On the occasion of the flag presentation in July, 1866, when the banners of Pennsylvania regiments were delivered back to the hands of the Governor, to be deposited in the archives of the State, the orphan children of the soldiers were received at the Home. Seven hundred of them were hospitably entertained during their stay in the city. Through the whole period of the Rebellion, the Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon was sustained by the noble and unremitted efforts of all classes of citizens of Philadelphia. The old and young contributed. Poor as well as rich gave freely according to their means. All classes vied with each other in endeavors to support the institution whose aims were purely those of patriotic philanthropy. But, while others contributed, the committee labored as well, and many of them fell victims to their noble ardor, or had the seeds of disease disseminated in their constitutions which no skill of the
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healing art can eradicate. Thus the beneficent efforts made by the committee and their friends, by means of fairs and contribu- tions, passed not away, but became perpetuated in the Soldiers' Home."
Of the number of those who sustained this association, and who were cut off in the midst of their labors, were Miss Clara T. Cooper, daughter of William M. Cooper, one of the owners of the building which gave name to the charity; Mr. William H. Den- nis, who was stricken down suddenly from prostration, "one of the most untiring members of the committee ;" Mrs. Mary Ann Haines, "one of the originals of the committee, whose loss was much felt and deeply regretted by the soldiers and a large circle of friends;" and Mr. William Morrison, who was the first of their number to be summoned from the stirring scenes of life.
In the volume of Dr. Moore a daily record of troops is pub- lished, which shows that in the aggregate, during the little more than four years of its existence, six hundred thousand were received. The committee who originally had the Saloon in charge was constituted as follows : William M. Cooper, H. W. Pearce, A. M. Simpson, W. R. S. Cooper, Jacob Plant, Walter R. Mellon, A. S. Simpson, C. V. Fort, William Morrison, Samuel W. Nickels, Philip Fitzpatrick, T. II. Rice, William M. Maull, R. H. Ransley, L. B. M. Dolby, A. II. Cain, William H. Dennis, R. II. Hoffner, L. W. Thornton, Joseph E. Sass, T. L. Coward, E. J. Herrity, C. L. Wilson, Joseph Perry, R. G. Simpson, Isaac Plant, James Toomey, H. H. Webb, William Sprowle, Henry Dubosq, G. R. Birch, Christopher Jacoby, James Tosing, E. S. Cooper, Joseph Coward, J. T. Packer, A. Nebinger and R. Nebinger.
The picture of the Saloon and of its operations as drawn by Dr. Moore is of interest: "The room was strictly clean and tidy, and every article shone by the careful hands of the active housekeepers who ministered to our braves. In the extensive fire-place was a large boiler for preparing the coffee, one for boil- ing meats, and all the required utensils of the culinary art. While the vegetables were cooking, and the viands preparing, each table was laid with a clean white linen cloth, on which were arranged plates of white stone china, mugs of the same, knives and forks, castors, and all that was necessary to table use. Bouquets of'
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flowers, the gifts of visitors, were frequently added, and lent their fragrance to the savory odors. The bill of fare consisted of the best the market could supply, and was not, in the articles pro- vided, inferior to that of any hotel. At all meals food was abundant ; consisting of ham, corned beef, bologna sausage, bread made of the finest wheat, butter of the best quality, cheese, pep- per sauce, beets, pickles, dried beef, coffee and tea, and vegetables."
The treatment accorded soldiers at this Saloon excited in the breasts of the hundreds of thousands of those who were its recip- ients the kindest and most enduring regard. Many letters were received from the field and from far off homes, from soldiers themselves and from the relatives of those who had fallen in the strife, tendering the warmest thanks for the Christian and humanizing influences bestowed. One will stand as an example of all, and will fitly conclude this notice. It was addressed by Fannie M. Overton, from Long Island, to Mr. Wm. M. Cooper : " Dear Sir :- I am under greater obligations to you and your lady committee than any others on this earth. I am a widow with but little of this world's goods, and have received many favors, but thou hast outdone them all; and on the judgment day I hope my children will rise up and call you blessed. There is but little prospect of my seeing any of you, except the one who has been at my humble cottage, on such an errand of mercy with the law of kindness on his tongue; but, do not fail to meet me in heaven. Dr. Nebinger: Thanks to you. God bless you for your faithful efforts to relieve the sufferings of and restore my dear, my oldest
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