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U.S. Sanitary Commission Materials: Subject Guide

This subject guide is an overview of the Sanitary Commission materials in the USU Archives. This collection includes official reports and the entire run of Volumes I and II of the The Sanitary Reporter, the Commission’s official publication.
 

 

Search for rare books, manuscript collections, and other archival material in the LRC catalog.

 

Search for digitized selections from the USU Archives, including documents, photographs, and full text rare books and manuscript material.

About the U.S. Sanitary Commission

The U.S. Sanitary Commission was founded in 1861, a private relief agency created to support ill and wounded soldiers of the Union Army during the Civil War. Primarily staffed by volunteers, often women, the Sanitary Commission raised money, made uniforms, collected food and other supplies, and ran hospital ships and soldiers’ homes for the U.S. Army. 

About the Sanitary Reporter Collection

The Sanitary Reporter Collection, 1863-1865, includes the entire run of Volume I and Volume II of the Sanitary Reporter, published by the U.S. Sanitary Commission. The Sanitary Reporters reported on the workings of the Sanitary Commission, including information about Army surgeons and their duties, ambulance corps, available supplies, financial reports, hospital reports, and sanitary fairs.

The Finding Aid for this collection is linked below. The other links are a selection of The Sanitary Reporter issues that have been scanned by the Archives. The complete collection can be viewed and downloaded by searching the Archives' digital collection under the heading Military Medical History Documents

Sanitary Commission Reports

The Sanitary Commission released several reports on topics including the practices and protocols of surgeons in the field, pensions for wounded soldiers and sailors, and support for the families of servicemen. The USU Archives has scanned a number of these reports and they can be viewed and downloaded from the Archives' online collections. 

The following links are examples of the Sanitary Commission publications that have been scanned by the Archives. The complete collection can be accessed by searching the Archives' digital collection under the heading Military Medical History Documents. 

Sanitary Commission Materials in the LRC Catalog

Rare Book Collection

The USU Archives features rare books on the U.S. Sanitary Commission from the 1800s. Due to age and fragility, these volumes are kept in the USU Archives space.  

LRC History Collection

The LRC History Collection contains material related to the U.S. Sanitary Commission. The catalog records of selected materials are linked below. Additional material on this topic can be located by searching the LRC Catalog. 

USU Archives Subject Guides