The work of humanity in war : plan and results of the Geneva Congress and International Treaty, securing to the sick and wounded in war the benefits of neutrality and sanitary care / prepared under direction of the American branch of the International Association for Relief of Misery of Battlefields.

  • American Association for the Relief of the Misery of Battle Fields.
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The work of humanity in war : plan and results of the Geneva Congress and International Treaty, securing to the sick and wounded in war the benefits of neutrality and sanitary care / prepared under direction of the American branch of the International Association for Relief of Misery of Battlefields. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    and is not the brotherhood of man strengthened and exalted ? Even if this were no necessary part of the fruit of such beneficence and sympathy, it certainly is an ample reward for these labors under the Geneva Treaty that untold agonies, terrors and dangers have been mitio-ated, and that thousands of human lives have been saved. Savers of men !—comforters and preservers of homes !—such we know from personal observation are the faithful surgeons in armies and hospitals, and such are all the skilled persons who bring sanitary relief and help to the sick and wounded. Throughout the long and terrible civil war in our beloved coun- try, how thoughtfully and with what determination did the repre- sentatives of these branches of patriotic duty strive to secure the ap- plication of the people's aid in the saving of our brave soldiers from needless suffering and untimely death. And now shall we not pity and strive to alleviate the woes of the hundreds of thousands of Ger- man and French soldiers who are at this hour in the military hospi- tals, far from home, and longing to live for those they love ? The. fresh memories of our own terrible experience in these United States arouse our fraternal sympathies and urge the people of this country to contribute generously and without delay to the work of Interna- tional aid and relief for those who fall upon the battle-fields or languish in hospitals. The war is not ended—when we write these words, apparently not nearly ended—nor will the wants of the wounded cease until many months after the war shall have ceased. In the latest dis- patch to the American Branch of the International Association for Re- lief, the President of the Geneva Committee sa3-s : We earnestly de- sire and need your gifts for the wounded ; the wants are large, urgent, and recurring without ceasing. It is exceedingly desirable that America should awaken the elan of the friendly world, after having given to it so good and great an example in the war of the secession. We lay these statements and this appeal before the American peo- ple, respectfully urging that there shall be prompt and generous con- tributions from them to the great work of Humanity in War—a work for all civilized nations, and which had its first great and inspiring example in these United States of America.