L. P. Brockett, The camp, the battlefield, and the hospital: or, lights and shadows of the great rebellion

---

[300] her own use. Of this, some articles, the gift of those who admired her earnest devotion to the interests of the soldier, were richly wrought and trimmed. Among them were two beautiful night-dresses, trimmed with ruffles and lace. On receiving the box, Mrs. Bickerdyke, who was again for the time in charge of a hospital, reserving for herself only three or four of the plainest and cheapest articles, traded off the remainder, except the two night-dresses, with the rebel women of the vicinity, for butter, eggs, and other delicacies for her sick soldiers; and as she purposed going to Cairo soon, and thought that the night-dresses would bring more for the same purpose in Kentucky, she reserved them to be traded on her journey. On her way, however, at one of the towns on the Mobile and Ohio railroad (Jackson, we believe), she found two poor fellows who had been discharged from some of our hospitals with their wounds not yet fully healed, and their exertions had caused them to break out afresh. Here they were, then, in a miserable shanty, sick, bleeding, hungry, penniless, and with only their soiled clothing. Mrs. Bickerdyke at once took them in hand. Washing their wounds and stanching the blood, she tore off the lower portions of the night-dresses for bandages, and as the men had no shirts, she arrayed them in the remainder of these dresses, ruffles, lace, and all. The soldiers modestly demurred a little at the ruffles and lace, but Mrs. Bickerdyke suggested to them that if any inquiries were made, they could say that they had been plundering the secessionists.

Visiting Chicago at this time, she was again invited to go to Milwaukee, and went with the ladies to the Chamber of Commerce. Here she was very politely received,