Many books have been written about the faithful work of women during the war, in hospitals and on the battlefields, but these books, at least those we have seen of them, are strangely silent about the work of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the same good cause. Some years ago we called the attention of Mr. George Barton, of Philadelphia, to this fact and suggested that a work of the Sisters in field and post hospitals during the war would afford ample material for a most interesting and edifying book. He saw the matter in the same light we did and set himself to the task. The result is this admirable work. The labors of all the Sisters are given in this charming book in detail and in chronological order.—Rev. L. A. Lambert, LL. D., in New York Freeman’s Journal.
“Illustrations in Perfect Taste from the Beginning to the End.”
Typographically the work is a masterpiece. The seventeen half-tone illustrations are beautifully executed; besides they are in perfect taste from the frontispiece, Thomas’ “Innocent Victim,” to the closing scene, “Lincoln at Gettysburg.” The volume is bound in red, with green trimmings, and the lettering is tastefully brought out in gilt, giving an artistic effect of coloring, pleasing to the eye and in keeping with the interior exquisiteness of finish. As a holiday book the publishers could not have improved on the “Angels of the Battlefield.”—The Connecticut Catholic.
“It Should Appeal Especially to Veterans of the War.”
All sorts of books have been written about the late war, enough to fill a good-sized library and, I think, I have read them all, but Mr. Barton’s book is a new thing in that class of literature. The author has ventured on untrodden paths, with the result that he has given to the public a vast amount of interesting history that has not hitherto seen the light of day. “Angels of the Battlefield” should meet with a generous welcome from all classes and conditions of people, irrespective of locality or religious belief; it should appeal especially to the veterans of the war, many of whom now living have experienced the practical charity and kindness of the gentle members of the various Sisterhoods. The general appearance of the book is very attractive and makes it suitable for presentation purposes.—Congressman James Rankin Young (S. M., in the Philadelphia Evening Star).
Fills “A Gap in the Chronicle of the Gruesome Years of the War.”
This work will fill, we believe, a gap in the chronicle of those gruesome years. The unselfish deeds of other women have been often related, but the incessant and universal help of the Catholic religious of the battlefields has never yet been placed in an orderly fashion before the world.—Catholic Standard and Times, Philadelphia.
The Effort “Was Well Worth Making, and the Task is Done Admirably.”
In the “Angels of the Battlefield” is given a history of the labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War. Among all the agencies for relief of suffering in that dreadful conflict, none was more beautiful and more self-sacrificing than the work of these untiring Sisters. The effort was well worth making, and Mr. Barton has done his task admirably.—Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.