patriotic addresses from his Excellency Austin Blair and other distinguished persons. It is proposed to devote the entire proceeds of this "Sanitary Fair" to the sick and wounded soldiers, who have gone forth in defence of that flag which is the symbol of Union, and whose brave hearts nerve them to meet suffering and death rather than permit one star to be stricken from its azure field. One-third of the proceeds of this fair will be distributed through the "Michigan Soldiers' Relief Committee," at Detroit, consisting of C. H. Buhl, B. Vernor, Adjutant-General John Robertson, W. A. Butler, and Anthony Dudgeon; one-third through the "United States Christian Commission," to be distributed by David Preston, E. C. Walker, Caleb Ives, Francis Raymond, J. S. Vernor, and Charles F. Clark, of Detroit, and onethird through the "Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society," at Kalamazoo. We ask the people of Michigan, men and women, old and young, to bring or send to us money, or such articles of value as can be spared, for this, a great national purpose. May we not, especially, appeal to the young men who still remain at home, and who are preserved from the accidents of the battle-field, the long suffering and the weary night watches of the hospital? If home duties and family ties, or impaired health, compel you to resist the inclination to aid your country in this its hour of peril, by active service in the field, we implore you to give of your means, that health may possibly be restored, and comfort administered to the sick and wounded soldiers. Of the women of Michigan we ask efficient, active aid in this, our effort to accomplish a great good; to them, we believe, we shall not appeal in vain. God's own blessing, we trust, will rest on all men, women, and little children of Michigan who may be thus inclined to strengthen the hearts and hands, and encourage the valor and patriotism of the fathers and husbands, and brothers and sons, who have manfully resisted the overthrow of that Government which good men of the olden time established, and which we humbly pray a righteous God may ever preserve. RUTH L. POTTER, Of the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society, Kalamazoo. It will be noticed that a very brief period elapsed between the time that the idea of holding the "Fair" was first entertained and its occurrence, but the foregoing address was as widely circulated among the people of Michigan as circumstances would permit. The ladies of Kalamazoo county relied mainly upon the various Soldiers' Aid Societies of the State for active co-operation, and in view of all the surroundings, they were not disappointed. The general outline for the "Fair" having been arranged, the work of preparation commenced. Buildings were to be erected, a hall in which articles were to be exhibited and sold to the assembled thousands, and an extensive dining-room for visitors, were to be built, and considering the fact that the lumber was to be brought by teams a distance of twenty-eight miles, the circumstances seemed to be embarrassing. The ladies had determined that all obstacles should be overcome, and their efforts were crowned with success. Contributions in money, merchandise, produce, animals, implements and works of art, were furnished with a good degree of liberality, from various portions of this State, and in a few instances from beyond the limits of Michigan. Words of encouragement, with gifts of money or articles for sale, came alike from the rich and the poor. In not a few instances, the widowed mother, whose only son had gone down in the storm of battle, in the Army of the Potomac, or the Army of the West, sent forward her humble contribution, with an invocation that God would bless the soldier who stood ready to yield his life in defence of that Government which had given him protection from infancy to manhood. A little child from an adjoining county, in humble circumstances, furnished her gift, in value the fraction of a dollar, with the simple but earnest request that she might be permitted to give something; she wished to do more, but they were poor; her mother was ill, and her father and only brother were soldiers in the war. This gift, in fact the most liberal of all, was sold and returned by purchasers, again and again, until the amount realized was a handsome addition to the general fund. On Thursday, the 22d day of September, the "Fair" was duly inaugurated under the direction of the Hon. James B. Crippen of Coldwater, Michigan, who, after appropriate religious services, in a brief address congratulated the assembled thousands upon the liberality which had been evidenced throughout the loyal States in caring for the men of the Union army, and in terms of merited compliment extended to the ladies of the State of Michigan commendation for their zeal and active effort in behalf of the sick and wounded soldier. His Excellency Austin Blair was then introduced, and in an address, able, patriotic, eloquent and replete with interesting incidents of the war, he held the close attention of his audience for an hour. After singing, of rare excellence, by the "Musical Association of Kalamazoo," the vast crowd was dismissed, every man and woman seemingly congratulating themselves that the public exercises had been to them, of great interest, and worthy of the cause for which the "Sanitary Fair" had been planned and arranged. No objects in the "Fair" seemed to excite so much of interest and fix the attention of the thousands who visited the "Sanitary Hall," as the torn and battle-scarred banners, which had been borne by the regiments of Michigan during the war, and which had been kindly furnished from the Adjutant-General's office. As the multitude gazed on these silent emblems of the brave deeds of the men of Michigan, again and again was heard from mother and father the exclamation, as the flag of some particular regiment was noted, "My son fought under that banner;" and not unfrequently the sad, accompanying remark, "he fell in battle," or "died in hospital." The "Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society, of Kalamazoo," desire to express their heartfelt thanks to all who generously contributed to this "Michigan State Sanitary Fair," for the benefit of the sick, wounded, and disabled soldier. To the delegations of ladies and gentlemen from Wayne, St. Clair, Macomb, Lapeer, Lenawee, Hillsdale, Calhoun, Jackson, St. Joseph, Van Buren, Cass, and Allegan counties, who attended during the "Fair," and kindly contributed by active effort to its success, they specially desire to express their great obligation. It will be perceived by the accompanying account that the net proceeds of the "Fair," already distributed, amounts to $9,300, leaving with the treasurer a small balance to cover any possible outstanding liability, or for future distribution. MICHIGAN STATE SANITARY FAIR. By amount received, admission tickets, for Sanitary Hall...... $1,213 15 454 25 11,097 40 Total....... $12,764 80 Debit. To amount paid Kellogg & Co. for lumber for buildings........ $1,243 91 502 11 To Kalamazoo Horse Association for rent of ground.. 276 50 To supplies for dining tables .... 1,123 50 To "Kalamazoo Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society" 2,900 00 To "United States Christian Commission," Detroit.. 2,900 00 To "Michigan Soldiers' Relief Committee," Detroit.... 2,900 00 To "Michigan Soldiers' Relief Association," Washington City, per Hon. J. M. Edmunds..... To cash, balance on hand...... 600 00 318 78 Total.......... $12,764 80 H. G. WELLS, S. W. WALKER, JOHN POTTER, Executive Com. Michigan State Sanitary Fair. KALAMAZOO, November 10, 1864. Among the various associations instituted during the war for the relief of the sick and wounded soldier, the "Christian Commission" loomed up as a great auxiliary in the great and good work. Possessing an immense strength and energy, with true devotion, it competed most successfully as a sanitary organization, uniting therewith the religious instruction and admonition of good men to the living, and administering kindly consolation to those who were being called away forever. The following report of the Michigan branch for 1864 finds a proper place at this time: TO JOHN ROBERTSON, Adjutant-General State of Michigan: In accordance with your request, the Michigan branch of the U. S. Christian Commission beg leave to report the nature and extent of its work in behalf of the armies of the Union for the past year. The commission in this State was first organized on the 15th of June, A. D. 1863, but has practically been in operation but a single year. It had no part in the great work of the Christian Commission at Gettysburg in July, 1863, except that some of our citizens were commissioned at Philadelphia, and acted as delegates on that field. Its first funds of any large amount were received from the thanksgiving collections of last year, which were nearly all poured into our treasury. Since that time the operations of this branch have been steadily enlarging, its resources increasing, and its plan and system of working gaining the favor and approbation of the people. The plan of the commission is to minister both to the mental and spiritual, as well as the bodily wants of the army. It sends the living preacher, the Bible, and the religious newspapers of all denominations, and all the time it is ministering to the temporal wants of the soldier, and working for the sick, wounded, and dying. It searches for the wounded amid the thickets of the battle-field, and never leaves him till he is discharged from hospital, or a prayer consigns him to a soldier's grave. All the delegates of the commission are ministers and laymen, selected for their fitness for the work, who labor each six weeks without any compensation, except, the consciousness of doing good. All that is given to the commission is dispensed personally by these delegates, and placed by their own hands in the hands of the soldier-not handed over to be dispensed by officials of the Government, or salaried agents of the commission. This branch of the commission has received from the people down to this time $21,725.20, most of which has been forwarded to the central office at Philadelphia. Stores have been contributed and forwarded to the armies from Michigan amounting in value to about $10,000. Michigan furnished to us the following delegates, fifty-seven in number, nearly all of whom have spent their full term of six weeks in the work of the commission: William Harvey, Detroit, Army of the Cumberland. Rev. George Duffield, Jr., Adrian, Army of the Potomac. A. S. Berry, Adrian, Army of the Potomac. Rev. Daniel E. Brown, Flint, Army of the Cumberland. Rev. H. N. Bissell, Mount Clemens, Army of the Cumberland. Rev. John Pierson, Milford, Army of the Potomac. Rev. S. L. Ramsdell, Northville, Army of the Potomac. O. F. Shannon, Fairwater, Wisconsin, Army of the Potomac. E. C. WALKER, Chairman. CALEB IVES, FRANCIS RAYMOND, J. S. VERNOR, Army Com. of the U. S. Christian Com. for Michigan. VOLUNTEER SURGEONS. There were times during the war when battles came thick and fast; when rebel bullets felled men like grain in harvest; when the Medical Department of the Government, with all its accustomed foresight and immense resources, with vast preparations to meet coming emergencies, failed in supplying the demand for surgeons in the field, and when the wounded were threatened with extreme suffering; but this deficiency was readily and cheerfully supplied by the medical men of the land. The surgeons of Michigan, without fee or proffer of reward, and at much sacrifice, never failed in promptly and substantially responding on these occasions. The following extract from a report made in 1864 by Dr. Joseph Tunnicliff, of Jackson, then State agent at Washington, to the Adjutant-General, sets forth their readiness for this service: "The Potomac Army, under command of Lieutenant-General Grant, crossed the Rapidan May 5, 1864, and from that day onward to about the 10th day of June, there occurred a nearly continuous succession of battles, so frequent that it is a common remark of the soldiers returned from that campaign that it seemed to them like one continuous battle. "Certain it is that the entire region, from the Rapidan to Cold Harbor, was a continuous battle-ground. Three hundred thousand men, in daily and nightly conflict for thirty-five days, produced of necessity a host of wounded, who demanded from not only the Government but the people every possible assistance. "Not only the Government ambulances and wagons but every other pos |