A Review of H. P. Davison's "The American Red Cross in the Great War"
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Date Published: November 15, 2024
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Who was Henry P. Davison?
Henry P. Davison, as a young bank teller, cycled ten miles every day to and from work through New York City’s streets to save ten cents. He spent his nights studying. What first caught the attention of the original J. P. Morgan was Davison’s personality. He eventually became one of the greatest of all the J. P. Morgan partners. … B. C. Forbes, founder of Forbes Magazine, wrote of H. P. Davison’s attitude toward loyalty and friends: “Men would go through fire and water for him.”
In 1917, with the start of The Great War—World War I, President Woodrow Wilson created the Red Cross War Council with Mr. Davison as Chairman. The organization was responsible for “organizing—and funding, the extraordinary efforts that the Red Cross would make to meet the unprecedented demands [placed on it by the start of the Great War] on both the battlefield and in civilian relief.”
For his work during this time, he received the Distinguished Service Medal from President Woodrow Wilson, Commander of the Legion of Honor from France, and Order of Leopold from Belgium—amongst others.
Henry P. Davison, as a young bank teller, cycled ten miles every day to and from work through New York City’s streets to save ten cents. He spent his nights studying. What first caught the attention of the original J. P. Morgan was Davison’s personality. He eventually became one of the greatest of all the J. P. Morgan partners. … B. C. Forbes, founder of Forbes Magazine, wrote of H. P. Davison’s attitude toward loyalty and friends: “Men would go through fire and water for him.”
In 1917, with the start of The Great War—World War I, President Woodrow Wilson created the Red Cross War Council with Mr. Davison as Chairman. The organization was responsible for “organizing—and funding, the extraordinary efforts that the Red Cross would make to meet the unprecedented demands [placed on it by the start of the Great War] on both the battlefield and in civilian relief.”
For his work during this time, he received the Distinguished Service Medal from President Woodrow Wilson, Commander of the Legion of Honor from France, and Order of Leopold from Belgium—amongst others.
Peter E. Greulich, November 2024
A Review of “The American Red Cross in The Great War” by Henry P. Davison
- Reviews of the Day: 1919–20
- Selected Quotes from “The American Red Cross in The Great War”
- This Author’s Thoughts on “The American Red Cross in The Great War”
Reviews of the Day: 1919–1920
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“The further we get away in point of time from our participation in World War I the more difficult it is to realize the greatness of our national effort. … H. P. Davison’s work is remarkably interesting and unconsciously picturesque volume. …
“The mere fact that there were 30,000,000 members enrolled in the organization (practically one-third of the population of the country) when hostilities ended is not easily grasped. … When he mentions some of the other details the imagination is staggered by their immensity. … Mr. Davison tells of the work for the soldiers at home; for the navy; for the Home Service; how the children were mobilized; the enormous supplies and transportation problems; and the work of taking care of disabled soldiers—not yet done. Davison’s royalties from the book are to go to the Red Cross.” “Our Red Cross in the War,” The New York Herald, December 28, 1919
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“ ‘The American Red Cross in the Great War’ is an admirably written record. … It has all the color and action of romance, all the feeling that was deep in the battle rush; all the intimate information relating to the people and conditions with whom it came in contact.
“It is a history no less than a report, and its contents will be valuable, indeed, to the writer who desires to understand the men who fought the war and the noble women who aided them in their adversity and anguish.”
“It is a history no less than a report, and its contents will be valuable, indeed, to the writer who desires to understand the men who fought the war and the noble women who aided them in their adversity and anguish.”
“Editorial,” The Brooklyn Daily Times, December 10, 1919
“ ‘The American Red Cross in the Great War’ covers innumerable ramifications of works of mercy from handing out hot coffee to American soldiers on the way to cantonments and ports of embarkation to administering relief in the typhus areas of Russia.
“Whatever the job to be done, the Red Cross accomplished it efficiently, courageously, humanely.”
“Whatever the job to be done, the Red Cross accomplished it efficiently, courageously, humanely.”
“New Books,” The Burlington Free Press, November 29, 1920
Selected Excerpts from “The American Red Cross in The Great War”
“In the face of so great a necessity, the leaders of the Red Cross were hampered by the laggard movement of monetary contributions. The psychology of this unwillingness to loosen the purse-strings is clear now.
“The truth was that America was still cased in its shell; it resented a war that it did not understand. … Yet, nothing could be more dramatic than the change that came over the United States in the first three months of the year 1917. … "It was almost magical in its swiftness.”
“When the war closed more than thirty million Americans—one out of every three citizens, were enrolled in the organization. Some of these were in foreign fields; most of them were at home. But, in one way or another, they were all helping.
“All of them working together made up the American Red Cross..” |
Sketch Portrait of H. P. Davison
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- Scaling the Red Cross Through Decentralization
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“In appointing a general manager the Red Cross found a man who was versed in the handling of big problems and knew how to reduce them to little ones. He solved the difficulty with the word ‘decentralization’ …
“In this case, decentralization resolved itself into the partitioning of the United States into thirteen divisions, each division a smaller Red Cross, with all its departments and bureaus under a divisional chief and a force complete in every detail with the various lines of endeavor firmly and clearly outlined. “It cleared the sky in a day—it saved the situation.” |
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- In the Red Cross, Women Also Displayed Engineering Skills
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“New methods and machines were invented under the high pressure of demand in this new craft. [one example] …
“The preparation of moss was a tedious process until a woman solved the problem by constructing a six-foot Ferris wheel hung with open air trays. In the big workrooms these machines were set up, the current switched on and the wheel left to do its time-saving work in the electric heat of the drying room.” |
This Author’s Thoughts on “The American Red Cross in The Great War”
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My thoughts on this book will be very much abbreviated compared with other books.
This is not because I found the book uninteresting, but rather it was the type of book I skim quickly because of the multitude of statistics made available by H. P. Davison. The one statistic that truly caught my attention was highlighted above: one-third of all Americans—men, women and children were associated with the American Red Cross by the end of the war. |
Black and white soldiers in a WWI Red Cross show
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This is an amazing tribute to this country and makes one wonder why we in the 21st Century aren’t taking on efforts today around the world as individuals? Are we expecting our government to do it for us, therefore we feel we have met the obligation?
This would be a wonderful topic to discuss as a country. In any war, there are children and individuals who—through no fault of their own—need assistance, and it should be provided to the non-combatants.
I recommend the book if the reader desires details on the American Red Cross and our American involvement in the Great War. Recommended are the individual chapters that cover the American Red Cross involvement by country such as Belgium and France.
The chapter on Rumania was especially eye opening.
Enjoy!
- Peter E.
This would be a wonderful topic to discuss as a country. In any war, there are children and individuals who—through no fault of their own—need assistance, and it should be provided to the non-combatants.
I recommend the book if the reader desires details on the American Red Cross and our American involvement in the Great War. Recommended are the individual chapters that cover the American Red Cross involvement by country such as Belgium and France.
The chapter on Rumania was especially eye opening.
Enjoy!
- Peter E.