our brave boys arrived from the Chickahominy swamps. The ward surgeons, metUcal cadets, and the commissary department arrived
with them. Now the real work of hospital life began in earnest. The first week after the arrival of these wounded and fever-stricken
boys we had scarcely time to eat, rest, or sleep. During the battles that followed in 1S62, 1863, and 1864 our hospital was constantly filled. From the battle-field of Gettysburg more
soldiers were received than ever before. The
wards were overcrowded, and tents were
erected on the grounds to accommodate two
thousand. The most of these were colored
troops, who, when convalescent, made it
lively with camp-meeting hymns, which
greatly amused some of the boys. The
weather was extremely warm, and the vast
number of the wounded made careful attention
to their wounds impossible. Upon the arrival
of the men at the hospital many of the wounds
were full of vermin, and in numerous cases
gangrene had set in. The odor was almost
unbearable. So increased was ' the demand
on our time and labor that the number of
nurses seemed utterly inadequate, and the
hospital presented a true picture of the horrors
of war. Amid such scenes of dreadful suffer-
ing, borne so uncomplainingly, my life as
an army nunse was passed. Yet it is with
feelings of thankfulness to God that I recall
those times, and know that I was permitted
to give almost three years of the best of my
life to the country I love and to its brave
defenders."
Mrs. Hamilton was one of those who vol- unteered to nurse the soldiers stricken with small-pox, which meant isolation from all but the patients. Sister Mary Xavier, a loyal, loving nurse, who was associated with her in the j)est department, died while in the per- formance of these duties. After the battle of th(> Wilderness in the summer of 1864, small-pox again visited this hospital, and Mrs. Hamilton once more occupied the post of danger in caring for the patients. In No- vember, 1864, on account of failing health, she was obliged to leave the hospital, her inability to continue in the service being a great disappointment to her.
Mrs. Hamilton's interest in the men who saved the Union will never cease. The re- unions and other celebrations connected with the national encampments of the Grand Army of the Republic are occasions of great enjoy- ment, whenever she has the privilege of attend- ing them. She has been elected chaplain of the H. M. W^arren Relief Corps of Wakefiekl, Mass., several years in succession, and is highly esteemed by the comrades of the post to which this corps is auxiliary.
When the Army Nurse Association of Massa- chusetts was organized, in 1892, Mrs. Hamilton was chosen secretary, and has continued in the office. She was president of the National Army Nurse Association, having been elected at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in 1902. She is a member of the Ladies' Ai(l Association of the Massachusetts Soldiers' Home, and often visits this home in Chelsea. She is a member of the First Baptist Church of Wakefield.
Eight children, two sons and six daughters, were the fruit of the union of Margaret antl Charles Roberts Hamilton. The eldest child, Charles West, died February 10, 1869, in Phila- delphia. The other son, George Gordon, died February 22, 1901, aged twenty-four years. Six children are living, namely — Anna May, Margaret Esther, Blanche Roberts, Charlotte Douglas, Lucy Belle, antl Ruth Florence. Anna May Hamilton was born in Philadelphia, and was five years old when her parents came to Massachu-setts. She was graduated from Welles- ley College in the cla.ss of 1890. She is professor of Latin in the Penn.sylvania College for Women at Pittsburg, and ranks high as a teacher. In 1902, having been granted a year's leave of ab.sence, she enjoyed a trip to Europe. Margaret and Charlotte Hamilton also attended Wellesley College. Blanche, Lucy, and Ruth ar(> graduates of the Wakefield High School.
Charles Roberts Hamilton, the father, served in the army from August, 1862, until December, 1864. He died April 9, 1900. On the paternal side he was of Scottish extraction, belonging to the Hamilton family of Berwick, Me. The following account of his lineal ancestors has been compiled partly from the manuscript of the Rev. Arthur Wcntworth
