ich his
German neighbors saluted me, and the "God bless your honor," which a
cheery son of Old Erin showered down upon me, and the simple "Thank you,
Sir," which came up on all sides from our true-hearted New England boys,
were alike refreshing to my soul. No doubt the single peach or two which
with hearty good-will were given to them were as good as a feast; and it
may be that the little comforts which I left behind me, and which had
been borne thither on the wings of this divine charity, perhaps from
some village nestling among the rocky hills of New England, or from some
hamlet basking in the sunlight on the broad prairies of the West, had
magic power to bring to that place of suffering some breath of the
atmosphere of home to cheer the sinking heart, or some fragrant memory
of far-off home-affection to make it better. I came away with the
feeling that visits from sunny-hearted people, and gifts from friendly
hands, must be a positive blessing to these sick and wounded people.

* * * * *

Of course the deepest throb of interest is given to the work at the
front of battle. That is natural. It is work done on the very spots
where the fortunes of our nation are being decided,--on the spots
whither all eyes are turned, and towards which all our hopes and prayers
go forth. It is work surrounded by every element of pathos and tragic
interest. The wavering fortunes of the fight, the heroic courage which
sustains a doubtful conflict, the masterly skill that turns disaster
into triumph, the awful carnage, the terrible suffering, the manly
patience of the wounded, all combine to fix the attention there and upon
everything, which is transacted there. The question is constantly
asked,--What is the Sanitary doing at the front? what at City Point?
what at Winchester? are natural questions. Let me state first the
general plan and method of what I may call a Sanitary campaign, and
afterwards add what I saw with my own eyes at City Point and before
Petersburg, and what I heard from those who had themselves been actors
in the scenes which they described.

When the army moves out from its encampment to the field of active
warfare, two or three Sanitary wagons, loaded with hospital stores of
all sorts, and accompanied by a sufficient number of relief agents, move
with each army corps. These are for the supply of present need, and for
use during the march, or after such skirmishes and fights as may occur