campaign which from observation, she was
convinced would be the fiercest and most destructive of human life of
any of the war. The first week of the campaign found her at the
secondary base of the army at Belle Plain, and thence with the great
army of the wounded she moved to Fredericksburg. Extensive as had been
her preparations, and wide as were the circle of friends who had
entrusted to her the means of solace and healing, the slaughter had been
so terrific that she found her supplies nearly exhausted, and for the
first time during the war was compelled to appeal for further supplies
to her friends at the North, expending in the meantime freely, as she
had done all along, of her own private means for the succor of the poor
wounded soldiers. Moving on to Port Royal, and thence to the James
River, she presently became attached to the Army of the James, where
General Butler, at the instance of his Chief Medical Director, Surgeon
McCormick, acknowledging her past services, and appreciating her
abilities, gave her a recognized position, which greatly enhanced her
usefulness, and enabled her, with her energetic nature, to contribute as
much to the welfare and comfort of the army in that year, as she had
been able to do in all her previous connection with it. In January,
1865, she returned to Washington, where she was detained from the front
for nearly two months by the illness and death of a brother and nephew,
and did not again join the army in the field.

By this time, of course, she was very generally known, and the circle of
her correspondence was wide. Her influence in high official quarters
was supposed to be considerable, and she was in the daily receipt of
inquiries and applications of various kinds, in particular in regard to
the fate of men believed to have been confined in Southern prisons. The
great number of letters received of this class, led her to decide to
spend some months at Annapolis, among the camps and records of paroled
and exchanged prisoners, for the purpose of answering the inquiries of
friends. Her plan of operation was approved by President Lincoln, March
11, 1865, and notice of her appointment as "General Correspondent for
the friends of Paroled Prisoners," was published in the newspapers
extensively, bringing in a torrent of inquiries and letters from wives,
parents, State officials, agencies, the Sanitary Commission and the
Christian Commission. On reaching Annapolis, she encountered obstacle