Woman's Work in the Civil War: A Record of Heroism, Patriotism, and Patience

by L. P. Brockett; Mary C. Vaughan

The officers of the society gave daily personal attention to the Home, directing its management minutely, and the superintendent, matron and other officials were employed by them.

The society also established a hospital directory for the soldiers of its territory, and recorded promptly the location and condition of the sick or wounded men from returns received from all the hospitals in which they were found; a measure which though involving great labor, was the means of relieving the anxiety of many thousands of the friends of these men.

In May, 1865, an Employment Agency was opened, and continued for six months. Two hundred and six discharged soldiers, mostly disabled, were put into business situations by the personal efforts of the officers of the society. The families of the disabled men were cared for again and again, many of them being regular pensioners of the society.

The surplus funds of the society, amounting June 1st, 1866, to about nine thousand dollars, were used in the settlement of all war claims of soldiers, bounties, back pay, pensions, etc., gratuitously to the claimant. For this purpose, an agent thoroughly familiar with the whole business of the Pension Office, and the bureaus before which claims could come, was employed, and Miss Brayton and Miss Terry were daily in attendance as clerks at the office. Up to August 1st, 1866, about four hundred claims had been adjusted.

The entire time of the officers of the society daily from eight o'clock in the morning to six and often later in the evening, was given to this work through the whole period of the war, and indeed until the close of the summer of 1866. The ladies being all in circumstances of wealth, or at least of independence, no salary was asked or received, and no traveling expenses were ever charged to the Society, though the president visited repeatedly every part of their territory, organizing and encouraging the auxiliary societies, and both secretary and treasurer went more than once to the front of the army, and to the large general hospitals at Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, etc., with a view to obtaining knowledge which might benefit their cause.

In August, 1864, a small printing office, with a hand-press, was attached to the rooms; the ladies learned how to set type and work the press, and issued weekly bulletins to their auxiliaries to encourage and stimulate their efforts. For two years from October, 1862, two columns were contributed to a weekly city paper by these indefatigable ladies for the benefit of their auxiliaries. These local auxiliary societies were active and loyal, but they needed constant encouragement, and incentives to action, to bring and keep them up to their highest condition of patriotic effort.

The Sanitary Fair at Cleveland was not, as in many other cases, originated and organized by outside effort, for the benefit of the Branch of the Sanitary Commission, but had its origin, its organization and its whole management directly from the Soldiers' Aid Society itself.

In November, 1865, the Ohio State Soldiers' Home was opened, and the Legislature having made no preparation for its immediate wants, the Soldiers' Aid Society made a donation of five thousand dollars for the support of its members.

With a brief sketch of each of these ladies, we close our history of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio.

Mrs. Rouse is a lady somewhat advanced in life, small and delicately organized, and infirm in health, but of tireless energy and exhaustless sympathy for every form of human suffering. For forty years past she has been foremost in all benevolent movements among the ladies of Cleveland, spending most of her time and income in the relief of the unfortunate and suffering; yet it is the testimony of all who knew her, that she is entirely free from all personal ambition, and all love of power or notoriety. Though earnestly patriotic, and ready to do all in her power for her country, there is nothing masculine, or as the phrase goes, "strong-minded" in her demeanor. She is a descendant of Oliver Cromwell, and has much of his energy and power of endurance, but none of his coarseness, being remarkably unselfish, and lady-like in her manners. During the earlier years of the war, she spent much of her time in visiting the towns of the territory assigned to the society, and promoting the formation of local Soldiers' Aid Societies, and it was due to her efforts that there was not a town of any size in the region to which the society looked for its contributions which had not its aid society, or its Alert Club, or both. Though plain and petite in person, she possessed a rare power of influencing those whom she addressed, and never failed to inspire them with the resolution to do all in their power for the country. At a later period the laborious duties of the home office of the society required her constant attention.