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created by the Medical Department of the Government, which had over three thousand beds, each during those dark and dreary days occupied by some poor sufferer. In this great hospital these ladies found, for a time, full employment for the hearts and hands of the Committees who, on their designated days of the week, ministered to these thousands of sick and wounded men, and from the depôt of supplies which the Association had established at the hospital, prepared and distributed fruits, food skilfully prepared, and articles of hospital clothing, of which the men were greatly in need. Those cheering ministrations, reading and singing to the men, writing letters for them, and the dressing and applying of cooling lotions to the hot and inflamed wounds were not forgotten by these tender and kind-hearted women.

But Mrs. Brady looked forward to work in other fields, and the exertion of a wider influence, and though for months, she and her associates felt that the present duty must first be done, she desired to go to the front, and there minister to the wounded before they had endured all the agony of the long journey to the hospital in the city. The patients of the Satterlee Hospital were provided with an ample dinner on the day of the National Thanksgiving, by the Association, and as they were now diminishing in numbers, and the Auxiliary Societies, which had sprung up throughout the State, had poured in abundant supplies, Mrs. Brady felt that the time had come when she could consistently enter upon the work nearest her heart. In the winter of 1863, she visited Washington, and the hospitals and camps which were scattered around the city, at distances of from five to twenty miles. Here she found multitudes of sick and wounded, all suffering from cold, from hunger, or from inattention. "Camp Misery," with its twelve thousand convalescents, in a condition of intense wretchedness moved her sympathies, and led her to do what she could for them. She returned home at the beginning of April, and her preparations for another journey were hardly made, before the battles of Chancellorsville and its vicinity oc

curred. Here at the great field hospital of Sedgwick's (Sixth) Corps, she commenced in earnest her labors in the care of the wounded directly from the field. For five weeks she worked with an energy and zeal which were the admiration of all who saw her, and then as Lee advanced toward Pennsylvania, she returned home for a few days of rest.

Then came Gettysburg, with its three days of terrible slaughter, and Mrs. Brady was again at her work day and night, furnishing soft food to the severely wounded, cooling drinks to the thirsty and fever-stricken, soothing pain, encouraging the men to heroic endurance of their sufferings, everywhere an angel of comfort, a blessed and healing presence. More than a month was spent in these labors, and at their close Mrs. Brady returned to her work in the Hospitals at Philadelphia, and to preparation for the autumn and winter campaigns. When early in January, General Meade made his Mine Run Campaign, Mrs. Brady had again gone to the front, and was exposed to great vicissitudes of weather, and was for a considerable time in peril from the enemy's fire. Her exertions and exposures at this time brought on disease of the heart, and her physician forbade her going to the front again. She however made all the preparations she could for the coming campaign, and hoped, though vainly, that she might be permitted again to enter upon the work she loved. When the great battles of May, 1864, were fought, the dreadful slaughter which accompanied them, so disquieted her, that it aggravated her disease, and on the 27th of May, she died, greatly mourned by all who knew her worth, and her devotion to the national cause.

The Association continued its work till the close of the war. The amount of its disbursements, we have not been able to ascertain.

82

WOMEN'S RELIEF ASSOCIATION OF BROOKLYN AND LONG ISLAND:

T

HE city of Brooklyn, Long Island, and the Island of which it forms the Western extremity, were from the commencement of the war intensely patriotic. Regiment after regiment was raised in the city, and its quota filled from the young men of the city, and the towns of the island, till it seemed as every man of military age, and most of the youth between fifteen and eighteen had been drawn into the army. An enthusiastic zeal for the national cause had taken as complete possession of the women as of the men. Everywhere were seen the badges of loyalty, and there was no lack of patient labor or of liberal giving for the soldiers on the part of those who had either money or labor to bestow. The news of the first battle was the signal for an outpouring of clothing, hospital stores, cordials, and supplies of all sorts, which were promptly forwarded to the field. After each successive engagement, this was repeated, and at first, the Young Men's Christian Association of the city, a most efficient organization, undertook to be the almoners of a part of the bounty of the citizens. Distant as was the field of Shiloh, a delegation from the Association went thither, bearing a large amount of hospital stores, and rendered valuable assistance to the great numbers of wounded. Other organizations sprang up, having in view the care of the wounded and sick of the army, and many contributors entrusted to the earnest workers at Washington, the stores they were anxious to bestow upon the suffering.

After the great battles of the summer and autumn of 1862, large numbers of the sick and wounded were brought to Brooklyn, for care and treatment filling at one time three hospitals. They came often in need of all things, and the benevolent women of the city formed themselves into Committees, to visit these hospitals in turn, and prepare and provide suitable dishes, delicacies, and special diet for the invalid soldiers, to furnish such clothing as was needed, to read to them, write letters for them, and bestow upon them such acts of kindness as should cause them to feel that their services in defense of the nation were fully appreciated and honored.

There was, however, in these varied efforts for the soldiers a lack of concentration and efficiency which rendered them less serviceable than they otherwise might have been. The different organizations and committees working independently of each other, not unfrequently furnished over-abundant supplies to some regiments or hospitals, while others were left to lack, and many who had the disposition to give, hesitated from want of knowledge or confidence in the organizations which would disburse the funds. The churches of the city though giving freely when called upon, were not contributing systematically, or putting forth their full strength in the service. It was this conviction of the need of a more methodical and comprehensive organization to which the churches, committees, and smaller associations should become tributary, which led to the formation of the Women's Relief Association, as a branch of the United States Sanitary Commission. This Association was organized November 23d, 1862, at a meeting held by the Ladies of Brooklyn, in the Lecture Room of the Church of the Pilgrims, and MRS. MARIAMNE FITCH STRANAHAN, was chosen President, and Miss Kate E. Waterbury, Secretary, with an Executive Committee of twelve ladies of high standing and patriotic impulses. The selection of President and Secretary was eminently a judicious one. MRS. STRANAHAN was a native of Westmoreland, Oneida County, New York,

and had received for the time, and the region in which her childhood and youth was passed, superior advantages of education. She was married in 1837, to Mr. James S. T. Stranahan, then a merchant of Florence, Oneida County, New York, but who removed with his family in 1840, to Newark, New Jersey, and in 1845, took up his residence in Brooklyn. Here they occupied a high social position, Mr. Stranahan having been elected a Representative to the Thirty-fourth Congress, and subsequently appointed to other positions of responsibility in the city and State. Mrs. Stranahan was active in every good work in the city of her adoption, and those who knew her felt that they could confide in her judgment, her discernment, her tact, and her unflinching integrity and principle. For eight years she was the first Directress of the "Graham Institute, for the relief of Aged and Indigent Females," a position requiring the exercise of rare abilities, and the most skilful management, to harmonize the discords, and quiet the misunderstandings, inevitable in such an institution. Her discretion, equanimity, and tact, were equal to the duties of the place, and under her administration peace and quiet reigned. It was probably from the knowledge of her executive abilities, that she was unanimously chosen to preside over the Women's Relief Association. This position was also one requiring great tact and skill in the presiding officer. About eighty churches of different denominations in Brooklyn, coöperated in the work of the Association, and it had also numerous auxiliaries scattered over the Island. These diverse elements were held together in perfect harmony, by Mrs. Stranahan's skilful management, till the occasion ceased for their labors. The Association was from first to last a perfect success, surpassing in its results most of the branches of the Commission, and surpassed in the harmony and efficiency of its action by none.

In her final report Mrs. Stranahan said: "The aggregate of our efforts including the results of our Great Fair, represents a money value of not less than half a million of dollars." Three

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