American religious group supporting the Union Army during the American Civil War
United States Christian Commission battlefield representatives at their headquarters location in Germantown, Maryland.
[1] The United States Christian Commission (USCC) was an organization that furnished supplies, medical services, and religious literature to Union troops during the American Civil War. It combined religious support with social services and recreational activities. It supplied Protestantchaplains and social workers and collaborated with the U.S. Sanitary Commission in providing medical services.
The Christian Commission was created in response to what the troops suffered in the First Battle of Bull Run. On November 14, 1861, the National Committee of the YMCA called a convention which met in New York City. Leaders outlined the work needed to support the soldiers, the design for the United States Christian Commission, whose organization was completed next day. Two of the founding members were Vincent Colyer, who was appalled by the aftermath of the battle of Bull Run, and George Stuart, a well-to-do businessman.
The YMCA and Protestant ministers formed the USCC. Its five thousand volunteers ("delegates") included seminary students, but many were just concerned Christians. As civilians on the battlefield, they did not carry weapons. They distributed more than $6 million worth of goods and supplies in hospitals, camps, prisons and battlefields.[2] The original plan of the USCC was to help the clergy of the armed services in their daily work, as the chaplaincy program was in its infancy, with only some 30 members, who were quickly overwhelmed by the scale of battles and casualties, and especially by the rapidly increasing number of deaths due to wounds and more so to disease.
John Calhoun Chamberlain, brother of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Thomas Chamberlain, heroes of Little Round Top, served with the USCC during the Battle of Gettysburg. During the evening of July 2, John assisted at the medical field station set up for his brothers' regiment, the 20th Maine.[3] John filed a report to the central office, describing the activities of the USCC at Gettysburg. This report[4] is found in Chamberlain's Christian Commission diary, kept during the battle of Gettysburg and is recorded in Edinborough Press' book, Gettysburg and the Christian Commission.[5]
Though USCC organizers were hesitant to allow women to go into hospital service under the auspices of the Commission, women found ways to participate. A national movement started in May 1864 with a view to organizing a Ladies Christian Commission in each evangelical congregation of the North as an auxiliary to the USCC. Increasing the network of collection, fundraising and support was the way the organization responded to meet a growing demand to serve the soldiers.[6] Annie Wittenmyer led dozens of female "lady managers" including Mary and Amanda Shelton, to begin diet kitchens in hospitals in the field to help reduce deaths related to poor quality diet in hospitals.[7][8][9]
The USCC continued to grow. More than three-quarters of the value of what it collected was distributed during 1864 and the four months of 1865. It represented both citizens' recognition of need and a more efficient organization. The Ladies Christian Commission (LCC) played a critical role in this success.[10]Louisa May Alcott was among many women who worked with the Commission. Others included Georgia McClellan,[citation needed] the sister of Jenny Wade, the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg, and Sarah Emma Edmonds, who worked as a nurse after serving with the Union Army as a soldier, spy, and as a male nurse under the name "Franklin Thompson." According to an 1868 account, 45 men and 3 women members of the U.S.C.C. died during the Civil War.[11]
The USCC participated in a religious revival within the Union Army between 1863 and 1865. Converts numbered between 100,000 and 200,000 men.[12]
The National Civil War Chaplains Museum at Liberty University has a section which commemorates the work of the Commission.
Cannon, M. Hamlin. "The United States Christian Commission", The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 38, No. 1. (Jun., 1951), pp.61–80. in JSTOR
Faust, Drew Gilpin. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War,(2008)
Hoisington, Daniel J. "Gettysburg and the Christian Commission", Edinborough Press, 2002
Hovde, David M. "The U. S. Christian Commission's Library and Literacy Programs for the Union Military Forces in the Civil War", Libraries & Culture, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Summer, 1989). pp.295–316.
Smith, Edward P. Incidents of the United States Christian Commission, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1869 Online edition
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected and decorated Union officer, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He is best known for his gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Mary Ann Bickerdyke, also known as Mother Bickerdyke, was a hospital administrator for Union soldiers during the American Civil War and a lifelong advocate for veterans. She was responsible for establishing 300 field hospitals during the war and served as a lawyer assisting veterans and their families with obtaining pensions after the war.
The 5th United States Colored Cavalry was a regiment of the United States Army organized as one of the units of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. The 5th USCC was one of the more notable black fighting units. It was officially organized in Kentucky in October 1864, after its first two battles. It was commanded by Colonel James Brisbin until February 1865, when he took over the 6th US Colored Cavalry. His executive officer, Louis Henry Carpenter, commanded the regiment until 20 March 1866.
As a young man, John Brown, Hammond believed in and used violent action to try to bring about alcohol prohibition in the United States. However, over time, he came to pursue non-violent actions through the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and other temperance groups.
Horatio Stockton Howell was a Union Army chaplain killed in downtown Gettysburg on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War.
Springdale is a small unincorporated community in Cedar County, Iowa, United States. Historically, the town was predominantly settled by Quakers, and was one of Iowa's most important stations on the Underground Railroad.
Lorinda Anna Blair Etheridge was a Union nurse and vivandière who served during the American Civil War. She was one of only two women to receive the Kearny Cross. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Sarah "Annie" Turner Wittenmyer was an American social reformer, relief worker, and writer. She served as the first President of the Women's Christian Temperance Union from 1874 to 1879. The Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home was renamed the Annie Wittenmyer Home in 1949 in her honor.
Louis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars.
Phoebe Wilson Couzins was one of the first female lawyers in the United States. She was the second woman to serve as a licensed attorney in Missouri and the third or fourth to be a licensed attorney in the United States. She was the first woman admitted to the Missouri and Utah bars, and was also admitted to the Kansas and Dakota Territory bars. She was the first female appointed to the U.S. Marshal service. After her career in law, she played an active part in the Suffrage movement.
The Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, also known at the Annie Wittenmyer Home or the Annie Wittenmyer Center, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States is a former orphanage for children. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The home was originally used for orphans from the American Civil War. Starting in 1876, children from broken homes, as well as orphans from all of Iowa's 99 counties, were taken in at the home.
Josiah Given was a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from March 12, 1889 to December 31, 1901, appointed from Polk County, Iowa. He also served as colonel of the 74th Ohio Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, receiving a brevet to brigadier general.
The W.H. Tedford House, also known as the Poston House, is an historical building located in Corydon, Iowa, United States. The house was built in 1887 for W.H. Tedford, a local attorney who served as a justice of the district court from 1891 to 1901. The house was sold to Eugene E. Poston after Tedford's death in 1917, and it remained in that family well into the 20th century. The house is a typical example of late 19th century vernacular Italianate residential architecture found in Iowa. The house features a bracketed cornice and large window hoods. The elaborate woodwork detail of the porch is of particular note. It is capped with a low, crested hipped roof. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Sophronia Smith Hunt was an American woman who disguised herself as a man and secretly served as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Her first soldier husband died after he was wounded at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry. They served in the 29th Iowa Infantry Regiment.
Mary A. Gardner Holland, also known as Mary G. Holland, was a Union nurse during the American Civil War.
Sophronia E. Bucklin was a nurse during the American Civil War. From Auburn, New York, Bucklin served for almost three years of the American Civil War. She worked with numerous hospitals and was present at many notable battles throughout the latter half of the war, until General Lee's surrender. Bucklin was devoted to the war effort, and though dependent on wages for her own living, felt the "same patriotism" as male volunteers.
Alice Frush was a Union nurse during the American Civil War.
Margaret Hamilton was a Union nurse during the American Civil War.
Lucy Kaiser was a volunteer Union nurse during the American Civil War. Kaiser's service began in April 1861 as she left for St. Louis, Missouri. She soon after witnessed the battle of Carthage and felt inspired to get involved in the war effort. Kaiser soon found a service opportunity at the United States Post Hospital where she left her name to be called upon if needed. In the meantime, she remained in St. Louis to help the soldiers as she could. For example, Kaiser often wrote letters to prominent community members asking for supplies. During this time, Kaiser stayed at a hotel in St. Louis and served out of her own good will and expense.
Price's Lost Campaign: The 1864 Invasion of Missouri is a 2011 book written by Mark A. Lause and published by the University of Missouri Press. The book discusses the early stage of Price's Raid, especially how what was originally designed as a full-fledged invasion became known to posterity as a less-important raid. Other themes include the failings of Confederate leader Sterling Price and Union leader William S. Rosecrans and a debunking of Lost Cause myths suggesting that the Confederate soldiers refrained from total war and behaved with chivalry during the campaign. The book's coverage cuts off midway through the campaign, when Price decided not to attempt to capture Jefferson City, Missouri, which Lause views as when the campaign shifted from an invasion to a raid. Several reviewers have criticized the decision to break off coverage at that point. Other points of concern mentioned by reviewers include the lack of a bibliography, insufficient quantity and quality of maps, and copy editing errors. The book was praised for its objective treatment of the campaign and the quality of Lause's research. A sequel, The Collapse of Price's Raid, was published in 2016.
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