"Anything for Me, if You Please?" - Post Office at the Brooklyn Fair in Aid of the Sanitary Commission

The United States Sanitary Commission, a forerunner of the American Red Cross, was founded in 1861 as the American Civil War began.  The organization provided food, clothing, shelter, medical supplies and proper treatment for Union soldiers and worked to promote clean and healthy conditions in camps.  It also established soldier homes and assisted soldiers in obtaining back wages, making travel arrangements back to the front and to home, and securing employment.  Civilian women organized Soldier Aide Societies and made clothes and collected food and other goods for the Sanitary Commission for distribution among soldiers.   In addition, Sanitary Fairs, such as depicted in this image, were staged in many of the larger cities, including, Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago.