107

Cornelius Agnew.

Letters home from a founder and leader of the Sanitary Commission.

Various places, 1861-1865
34 letters, 25 of them being from Agnew to his wife or children, most on a variety of Sanitary Commission letterhead; generally minimal wear.

  • Notes: "Our dead heroes lying bloated & naked on the battle ground in great groups"

    Dr. Cornelius Rea Agnew (1830-1888) was a graduate of Columbia College and the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was a leading figure in the United States Sanitary Commission's Executive Committee from its formation through the end of the war. His letters offer remarkable insight into the medical aspects of the war--not only the big-picture administrative aspects, but also frequently his discussions of his own service in field hospitals, and his weary reflections on the horrors of war. 

    In the first of these letters on 13 June 1861, Agnew writes from Washington to announce that "our Commission organized yesterday," naming the founding leaders of the Sanitary Commission and adding that "to-day we are going to the Sec. of War to present our plan of organization & to obtain governmental recognition." On 12 July 1861, he expected congressional recognition, adding that "our sanitary inspectors are in the field doing great good." Four days after the first major battle at Bull Run, he wrote on 25 July that "we are in receipt of frequent telegraphs urging the medical members of the Commission to hurry on to Washington. The hospitals there are said to be inefficient & requiring our supervision and criticism." On 3 September he offers the commission's assistance to General Fremont in the Department of the West, applauding him for "declaring the slaves of Rebel masters free." 

    Agnew's proximity to power is suggested by a 17 September 1861 letter: "I have just been to Gen'l McClellan's & ascertained that the enemy is falling back. Our army will advance tomorrow, probably." That relationship did not go well. On 5 March 1862, he complained of "McClellan's failure to keep a promise which he made to us that we should be mentioned in general orders. I do not like his want of truth in the matter & am therefore not so secure in my feeling of utter confidence in his moral solidity. . . . If McClellan does not win a victory before the 20th he will be displaced." Bingo: McClellan was removed as general-in-chief on the 11th.

    Dr. Agnew was not just an administrator. On 8 June 1862 he wrote: "The arrival of the C. Vanderbilt & six hundred wounded was announced. I . . . worked until eleven last night dressing the wounded. It was a sad sight even for me to see such suffering. The berths & cabin floors were all occupied by wounded men presenting every form of wound from the amputated thigh to the slight flesh wound." 

    After the defeat at Second Bull Run, he wrote "It is rumored that Stanton has resigned. God grant it may be so" (3 September 1862). Agnew was soon on the scene. On 7 September, his team "arrived on the battlefield about noon. Such a scene my dear wife only few mortal eyes have witnessed. Our dead heroes lying bloated & naked on the battle ground in great groups immediately in front of the enemy's batteries." The line "on which the Duryea's Zouaves fought gives unmistakable evidence of bad generalship, men sacrificed by ignorance or recklessness of high officers. . . . I found 250 wounded men lying under the trees in an orchard. . . . From Saturday until Wednesday & Thursday many of them attached by helplessness to the decomposing bodies of their dead comrades. Many wounded starved to death." On 17 September, celebrating the victory at Antietam, "I am off with sixty surgeons & large supplies to Frederick, Maryland." 

    On 7 July 1863, he writes from Carlisle, PA: "I shall start for Gettysburgh in a carriage in a few moments. . . . The nearer you get to the field, the more difficult it is to obtain information." A 21 March 1865 letter from Cape Fear River, NC describes at length the condition of recently released prisoners: "That horrid vacancy in the eyes. . . . Many of the men are in a state of mind resembling idiocy, unable to tell their names or the length of imprisonment. These poor fellows, some alive with lice & many of them destitute of any clothing. Oh! Such a scene." 

    The most vivid letters in this collection are the 22 from Dr. Agnew to his wife. Also interesting are two letters from a B. Howard describing his new design for a stretcher that could transfer the "wounded without the painful process of lifting them off the stretcher" (18 November and 3 December 1864). Agnew's 20 March 1865 draft letter to Dr. Jenkins of the Sanitary Commission elaborates on some of the descriptions of prisoners provided to his wife.

    With--Charles J. Stillé.  "How a Free People Conduct a Long War: A Chapter from English History." 39 printed pages. 8vo, original printed wrappers, moderate wear; vertical fold; author's inscription to Agnew clipped from wrapper and pasted to title page.  Philadelphia, 1862
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