During the Civil War in America, the wounded soldiers were transported home by the sea. Executive Secretary Frederick Law Olmsted created an account of these days in his memoirs. In those times, women were actively drawn by the Sanitary Commission to help wounded soldiers by providing them homely comfort by cooking and cleaning or helping with writing letters. Yet, during the hard times of war, the roles of these women grew into nursing. They were actively helping doctors in providing complex surgeries and providing patients with other sorts of medical care.