Thomas Starr King and the mercy million.

Abstract

In September, 1862, the United States Sanitary Commission, fore runner of the modern American Red Cross, faced near bankruptcy. The Sanitary Commission was a private organization attempting on a national scale to aid the sick and wounded soldiers of the Civil War. The commission's treasury, dependent on contributions from the American public, was desperately short of funds. The situation was saved by a vast outpouring of gold from the distant and thinly settled state of California. This flood of money continued to the end of the war, enabling the commission to survive and greatly expand its chari table endeavors. According to the i860 census, California ranked as the twenty-sixth state in population in a Union of thirty-three states. In i860 there were only 380,000 inhabitants in the Golden State. Yet, despite a small population, haphazard collecting methods, and climatic disasters, California contributed more money to Union war relief than any other state. One man above all was responsible for this great achievement?the dynamic and youthful Unitarian minister in San Francisco, Thomas Starr King.1 Born in New York City on December 17, 1824, Thomas Starr King was the son of a Universalist minister. At fifteen he left school to support a widowed mother and five younger brothers and sisters. In succession, he worked as a dry goods clerk, as a bookkeeper, and as a schoolteacher. Largely self-educated, Starr King finally turned to