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| Supply wagons of the sanitary commission at Belle Plain, 1864 After the Sanitary Commission proved its worth, it had no more ardent adherents than the medical corps. When a field-surgeon's requisitions were delayed, he would apply to the nearest Sanitary Commission official, who seldom failed to promptly forward the desired medicines. One of its activities was to publish pamphlets on sanitation, some of which were useful no doubt in theory but hardly practical for the soldier on the march. ‘When halting to rest,’ read one of them in substance, ‘never sit upon the ground. First unroll your rubber blanket, then spread on top of it your woolen blanket, and sit on that.’ Aside from the lack of such a plethora of blankets, the usual halt on the march was five minutes, exactly the length of time it took the soldier to roll up his blanket and strap it on his knapsack, ready for the march. |
