Her voyage to Vicksburg in May, 1863, was one of considerable peril, from the swarms of guerrillas all along the river, who on several occasions fired at the boat, but fortunately did no harm.
She found at Vicksburg, a vast amount of suffering to be relieved, and abundant work to do, and possessing firm health and a vigorous constitution, she was able to accomplish much without impairing her health. At the first Sanitary Fair at Chicago, Mrs. Salomon organized a German Department, in which she sold needle and handiwork contributed by German ladies of Wisconsin and Chicago, to the amount of six thousand dollars. When, in January 1864, Governor Salomon returned to private life, Mrs. Salomon did not intermit her efforts for the good of the soldiers; her duty had become a privilege, and she continued her efforts for their relief and assistance, according to her opportunity till the end of the war.
PITTSBURG BRANCH, U. S. SANITARY COMMISSION.
ittsburg, as the Capital of Western Pennsylvania, and the center of a large district of thoroughly loyal citizens, early took an active part in furnishing supplies for the sick and wounded of our armies. As its commercial relations and its readiest communications were with the West, most of its supplies were sent to the Western Armies, and after the battle of Belmont, the capture of Fort Donelson, and the terrible slaughter at Shiloh, the Pittsburg Subsistence Committee, and the Pittsburg Sanitary Committee, sent ample supplies and stores to the sufferers. The same noble generosity was displayed after the battles of Perryville, Chickasaw Bluffs, Murfreesboro' and Arkansas Post. In the winter of 1863, it was deemed best to make the Pittsburg Sanitary Committee, which had been reorganized for the purpose, an auxiliary of the United States Sanitary Commission, and measures were taken for that purpose by Mr. Thomas Bakewell, the President, and the other officers of the Committee. The Committee still retained its name, but in the summer of 1863, a consolidation was effected of the Sanitary and Subsistence Committees, and the Pittsburg Branch of the Commission was organized. Auxiliaries had previously been formed in the circumjacent country, acknowledging one or the other of these Committees as their head, and sending their contributions and supplies to it. The number of these was now greatly increased, and though latest in the order of time of all the daughters of the Commission, it was surpassed by few of the others in efficiency. The Corresponding Secretary and active manager of this new organization was Miss Rachael W. McFadden, a lady of rare executive ability, ardent patriotism, untiring industry, and great tact and discernment. Miss McFadden was ably seconded in her labors by Miss Mary Bissell, Miss Bakewell, and Miss Annie Bell, and Miss Ellen E. Murdoch, the daughter of the patriotic actor and elocutionist, gave her services with great earnestness to the work. In the spring of 1864, the people of Pittsburg, infected by the example of other cities, determined to hold a Sanitary Fair in their enterprising though smoke-crowned city. In its inception, development and completion, Miss McFadden was the prime mover in this Fair. She was at the head of the Executive Committee, and Miss Bakewell, Miss Ella Steward, and Mrs. McMillan, were its active and indefatigable Secretaries. The appeals made to all classes in city and country for contributions in money and goods were promptly responded to, and on the first of June, 1864, the Fair opened in buildings expressly erected for it in Alleghany, Diamond Square. The display in all particulars, was admirable, but that of the Mechanical and Floral Halls was extraordinary in its beauty, its tasteful arrangement and its great extent. The net results of the Fair, were three hundred and thirty thousand four hundred and ninety dollars, and eighty cents, and while it was in progress, fifty thousand dollars were also raised in Pittsburg, for the Christian Commission. The great Central Fair in Philadelphia, was at the same time in progress, so that the bulk of the contributions were drawn from the immediate vicinage of Pittsburg.
The Pittsburg Branch continued its labors to the close of the war.
After the fair, a special diet kitchen on a grand scale was established and supplied with all necessary appliances by the Pittsburg Branch. Miss Murdoch gave it her personal supervision for three months, and in August, 1864, prepared sixty-two thousand dishes.