The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-04-17
OUR WOMEN IN 'I1RIII! VAR.
TIE FIRST WAySiDE HOSPITAL.
Mss +. y. ", Of C"',mhia. s. e., in Ch'rirs'
ION U'rchiy .N-ws

.on Weekly -Nr"s.
During the summer Of 1861, just after
the battle of Manassas, when the hearts
of Southern women of all ages were fired
with tha, zea for the Confederate cause
which has never Tagged. aparty oi young
"irls in Columbia :. G., determined to
see what they could do I, help the sol
diers. Incy therefore made Il call
through the papers Of the city to all the
Young ladies of The community, asking
lEcm 10 meet &. Il certain Time and place
in order to consul: together, lay plans
and devise schemes Ter work. The meet
ing was grand saccesS. y large num-
Der of girls responded to the call, a
society was formed, officers were elected,
committees were appointed, and "li the
ceremonies 0i organization gene through
with the skill OF veterans.
ooh death in lie the ,lay,'ha arc II" i'l're'
Wha, memories are recalled of laugh
ter ard fun, of >;ghs and .ears, OF soes
and a.onv rs one Of the officers OF the
society then fufmed-"The Young La
dies Hospital Association - looks
through her books to night, and runs
over the names of the young girls VINO
with full hearts and earnest faces enrolled
their names ti:at summer afternoon;
Poor children! their hands were unused
to labor, but willing minds made up tor
their lack of skill, and it was wonderful
how soon they learned to cut out and
make up homeSpun shirts, knit socks,
roll bandages, &c, and before long many
a box of substantial comforts was sent to
the bows in the army from the glr.s at
home.
The meetings of the association were
we'll attended and kept up regularly
True there Was perhaps lack OF parlia
mcntarv usage in the conduct OF the
assembly; their was, ii must be confessed,
tendency manifested by all the men,
bcrs to speak at once when there was
question TO be decided, and even the
president herself instead Of maintaining
the dignity of tie chair and preserving
order would Join in the general clamor,
while, occasionally Il nervous glggle would
shock the conclave and prove that in all
times and circumstances girls Will be
girls" Many sober malron with
whitening hair will recall the time when
the secretary and treasurer WAS called
upon to read her first report, how she
turned her back upon the au'!ience, and
in that position aol'e could be prevailed
upon TO read aloud Pity tic henighled
girls of 'Gl, advanced young women OF
the present day They had scarcely
ever even heard of an emancipaied wo-
man, and female lecturer "r pubic
reader was beyond thei-power> O! lmag''
nation.
TIE FIRST PRACTICAL STEP TAKEN.
During the winter of lSGl-2 the mum,
Der of soldiers coming ho:ae sick and
wounded began to be considerable. or
ten for want Of connection between tie
incoming ana outgoing trans. the poor
fellows would be obliged 10 remain in
Columbia for hours and sometimes day
and night, and As they had little money,
they would frequently suffer for want OF
lodg ging and lack of attention. some
ladies Of The city resolved to meet the
trains as they arrived from Virginia, and
minister as best they could to the needs
of the suffering men. But there Was no
organized plan, consequently on some
occasions one man would be entirely
overlooked, while another would come
near sharing the fate OF the conplalSant
hero who mecklv submitted to having
his face washed by seventeen enthusiastic
volunteer nurses.
\ clergyman Of Columbia, who was in
the habit of meeting the trains to afford
any assistance in his power to the airlv'
ing soldiers, called the attention OF some
of the members Ct the Young Ladies
Hospital Association to this state OF
affairs, and suggested to them the propri'
ely Of applying some Of their funds to
arranging a room ut the Charlotte depot
for tie rclre.hmcnt OF the weary and
wounded mer. Tic idea seemed to them
coed one, and The suggestion was I'M
modialc;y ac;e,. upon. An empty room
wa- scared from The authorities OF the
railroad, and il WAS put in order.
Though the furniture OF this little
room was scarcely more luxurious than
that OF The 'l'rcphet'S Chamber The
place was ambitiou*ly ly styled
"rIIE SOLDIERS REST
and for few days its scanty accon'mo.
da,ions proved to be comfort to many
weary passers by. 1t was soon found,
however. that the need for a resting p lace
for the passing soldiers was greater than
at first supposed, and as it was necessary
for them TO be transported across the
town in order to reach the other trains,
il was concluded to transfer The Soldiers
Rest to the depot whence they could be
put upon the cars as soon a, they had
their wounds dressed and a nights lndg-
inc and been made comfortable for their
Journey. But the affair had now assum-
ed dimensions far beyond anything that
It's oricinatorS had ever dreamed OF, and
the older heads. to whom the girl, OF the
Young Ladies Hospital Association
were accustomed to defer, thought II best
to take matters into their own hands
There was grim work to he done. g'astly
sights to be seen horrors TO DC endured,
and the wiser and more experienced ones
t.ndcrly wished 10 spare the young
hearts. already becoming tao i;!nil'ar
wiki sorrow, everything whic!l it was in
their power to do. Irc Soldier he,'
WAS then changed int Tie Nay>ide
Home or Hospital, u 1t w"S afterwards
called, and the charge %: ii assumed hya
committee of ladies, ;,->i>tc'! s'y >''nc
gentlemen, whom age ~ duty !'-l'l on!
OF the army. lc"yin. /" l;,. :.:F.> tien. T..
said. "ihe c>ii,clicS o: ,hr 'iU-?'iil.
HOW THE SYSTEM ilA> >PEEAh.
such WAS :he small h-@,l;!;ng of the
Columbia Wav.idc lIo,piai, th- lir-t Of
the l:i',d in The wori'. .i""A,:ac, from
an addrc>, OF Dr. .Ioi.n T Duiv, sur