Rescue and Relief 4

"Halt! Who Goes There?"		For two weeks Sheridan oversaw a de facto martial law of dubious legitimacy enforced by a mix of regular troops, militia units, police, and a specially organized "First Regiment of Chicago Volunteers." They patrolled the streets, guarded the relief warehouses, and enforced curfews and other regulations. John DeKoven, cashier of the Merchants' National Bank of Chicago, wrote to his wife of his experience as a sentry, "I have not had my clothes off for a week, the city is paroled [sic] every night, you should have seen me last night paroling our alley with a loaded revolver in my hand looking for incendiaries for there are many about." For several months after conventional law and order had been restored, state politicians disputed whether such measures were justified and legal, but their immediate calming effect was evident. Former Lieutenant-Governor William Bross, part owner of the Tribune and refugee from Terrace Row, later recollected his response to the arrival of the soldiers Sheridan summoned from Omaha and Leavenworth: "Never did deeper emotions of joy overcome me. Thank God, those most dear to me and the city as well are safe." The Relief and Aid Society's fire activities were considerably more long-lived, extending into 1874. Dividing the city into districts, the Society opened offices and supply depots connected by telegraph and separated its work into different areas--contributions, shelter, employment, transportation, distribution, and health--each overseen by a different committee. It not only distributed food and clothing, but also made available the materials for several thousand simple "shelter houses," erected four barracks for the homeless poor, helped secure necessary tools and appliances to those who required them, and performed some 64,000 vaccinations against smallpox. It was a model of a new kind of "scientific" charity whose work was conducted by paid professionals carrying out the policies of an executive board.
Plans for a Shelter House