ABSTRACT
The vision of the "delegates of humanity" as vigorous young men led on by a few noble chiefs is easily recognized as a sort of rhapsody on Appia's experience in Schleswig. Inevitably, opponents of civilian interference in military affairs seized upon these ill-considered paragraphs in War and Charity as evidence that volunteers—these self-appointed "delegates of humanity"—could not be trusted and indeed that on the battlefield they might be more of a headache than a blessing. Doubtless Moynier and Appia believed that War and Charity would serve as a kind of blueprint for the work of aiding the wounded. Yet even before they had finished the manuscript the pace of events began to quicken, and it became apparent that the Geneva committee was no longer in such complete control of the enterprise as it had been in 1863—1864. The Prussian aid society also provided extensive catering services for troops in transit from the fronts.
