During
the Civil War, a volunteer organization called the United States Sanitary
Commission was formed with the purpose of raising supplies and funds for
the North, and of overseeing the sanitary conditions of military
hospitals. From this Commission, many significant Americans --
including Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix and Frederick Law Olmstead -- went on
to achieve greatness by beginning America's social and medical movements.
Fund and supply raising events, called Sanitary Fairs, were held
throughout the Northern states. The Women's Auxiliary of the U. S.
Sanitary Commission was particularly important in making and donating
clothes, bandages and quilts at these Fairs. All supplies donated
were stamped on the back saying "U. S. Sanitary Commission" and
documented in Commission records. Today, they are national
treasures.
The
Sanitary Commission requested that quilts measure 48 by 84 inches, as
these quilts were given to soldiers to carry as part of their bedrolls and
were used in military hospitals on the wounded soldiers' cots.
In two and a half years, the Women's Auxiliary made and donated to the
Union troops 250,000 quilts. They frequently carried the names of
the makers and messages of hope and support.
The U.S. Sanitary Commission later became known as The American Red Cross.
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1864 US Sanitary Commission Quilt owned by the Lincoln Shrine.