residents of Newport),
were in the habit of sending to Miss Wormeley many poor women, with the
request that she would furnish them with steady employment upon hospital
clothing, the ladies paying for the work. After they left, the poor
women whom they had thus benefited, felt the loss severely, and the
thought occurred to Miss Wormeley that the outfitting of a great army
must furnish much suitable work for them could it be reached.

After revolving the subject in her own mind, she wrote to
Quartermaster-General Meigs at Washington, making inquiries, and was by
him referred to the Department Quartermaster-General, Colonel D. H.
Vinton, United States Army, office of army clothing and equipage, New
York. Colonel Vinton replied in the kindest manner, stating the
difficulties of the matter, but expressing his willingness to give Miss
Wormeley a contract if she thought she could surmount them.

Miss Wormeley found her courage equal to the attempt, and succeeded far
more easily than she had expected in carrying out her plans. She engaged
rooms at a low rent, and found plenty of volunteer assistance on all
sides. Ladies labored unweariedly in cutting and distributing the work
to the applicants. Gentlemen packed the cases, and attended to the
shipments. During the winter of 1861-2 about fifty thousand army shirts
were thus made, not one of which was returned as imperfect, and she was
thus enabled to circulate in about one hundred families, a sum equal to
six thousand dollars, which helped them well through the winter.

Colonel Vinton, as was the case with other officers very generally
throughout the war, showed great kindness and appreciation of these
efforts of women. And though this contract must have given him far more
trouble than contracts with regular clothing establishments, his
goodness, which was purely benevolent, never flagged.

During all this time the work of the Women's Union Aid Society was also
carried on at Miss Wormeley's rooms, and a large number of cases were
packed and forwarded thence, either to New York or directly to
Washington. Miss Wormeley, herself, still superintended this matter, and
though an Associate Manager of the New England Women's Branch of the
Sanitary Commission, preferred this direct transmission as a saving both
of time and expense.

The Society was earnest and indefatigable in its exertions, acting
always with great promptness and energy while under the direction of
Miss Wormeley. O